King 'hopeful' visit to Australia will go ahead despite cancer diagnosis
By The Telegraph UK|
B?y India McTaggert and Victoria Ward
The King is "hopeful" that his state visit to Australia in the autumn will go ahead despite his cancer diagnosis last week.
He was expected to visit the country with Queen Camilla as part of a long-haul trip in late October, but his diagnosis and ongoing treatment have thrown the plans into doubt.
However, a Palace source told The Telegraph that the monarch still hopes to keep to the visit, scheduled around the Commonwealth heads of government meeting in Samoa and confirmed by Anthony Albanese, the Australian prime minister, in early January.
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The source said: "We continue planning, but we're not at any stage to confirm timing or dates because it's the first week of the King's treatment. It certainly remains the case that he's hopeful it will go ahead."
It is understood that, before the King's diagnosis, planning for the overseas trip had been at an early stage, but Mr Albanese revealed the monarch's intention to visit at the beginning of the year.
A government spokesperson told The Australian newspaper: "The Prime Minister enjoys a warm relationship with the King, and looks forward to welcoming His Majesty to Australia later this year."
The long-awaited visit will mark the King's first trip to the country since his accession, and the first by a ruling monarch since Elizabeth II in October 2011.
The Palace source added: "Albanese confirmed there was a state visit in the pipeline," adding that "planning for future state visits continues, making allowance for changed circumstances".
The King has had to postpone all public duties at home as he undergoes treatment for an unspecified cancer discovered by his medical team following a corrective treatment for an enlarged prostate.
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He will be avoiding public engagements to protect his health and will be spending most of his time recovering at Sandringham or Highgrove.
He is also expected to return to London more or less weekly in order to hold his audience with the Prime Minister and receive further treatment and medical advice.
On Sunday, the King was seen in public for the first time since he began regular treatments one week ago. He was pictured walking to church at Sandringham with the Queen, smiling and waving to well-wishers.
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He was previously only photographed last week through the large windows of the state Bentley after a brief visit by the Duke of Sussex to Clarence House.
The King's overseas visits จC for the time being จC are left up in the air following his diagnosis, including an expected visit to Canada in the spring and one to New Zealand around the Commonwealth heads of government meeting.
The tours would mark the monarch's first visits to Commonwealth realms since he ascended the throne and are considered critical in terms of shoring up support in a time of growing republicanism.
The timing is crucial, with several indicating that they want to sever ties with the Royal family and remove the King as head of state.
In Australia, the prime minister confirmed last year that his desire for a referendum remained undimmed. "I want to see an Australian as Australia's head of state," he said.
The King's first overseas tours after ascending the throne were to France and Germany respectively, then to Kenya, a member of the Commonwealth but not a realm.
He is said to have been keen to appear at the heads government meeting in Samoa, which starts on Oct 21, but the trip now hinges on whether he will feel able to.
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