What to expect from King Charles’s and Queen Camilla’s State Visit to Australia and Samoa

Only hours remain before King Charles III’s first royal visit to Australia begins—his first as monarch, and only the second head of state to step foot on Australian soil.

King Charles and Queen Camilla are undertaking a royal visit to Australia and a state visit to Samoa from 18-26 October, squeezing in CHOGM 2024 in the midst of their time in Oceania.

What to expect over the next nine days? We’ve got you covered.

The Background

In July, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charle’s first visit to a Commonwealth realm (one of the handful of Commonwealth nations that recognises the monarch as its head of state) would be Australia.

A state visit to Samoa was also announced, coinciding with CHOGM 2024, where the heads of 56 Commonwealth nations will gather for bilateral meetings.

Despite the fanfare, the palace confirmed that the King and Queen would not be visiting New Zealand this time around owing to the King’s ongoing cancer treatment. The statement read: “In close consultation with the Australian and New Zealand prime ministers, and with due regard for the pressures of time and logistics, it has therefore been agreed to limit the visit to Samoa and Australia only.

“Their Majesties send their warmest thanks and good wishes to all parties for their continued support and understanding.”

But New Zealand wasn’t totally snubbed: King Charles and Queen Camilla released new official portraits on behalf of the New Zealand government.

In Australia and Samoa, the palace stressed, “Their Majesties’ engagements will focus on themes designed to celebrate the best of Australia and Samoa, as well as reflecting aspects of The King and Queen’s work.”

What to Expect in Australia

King Charles and Queen Camilla will undertake engagements in the Capital Territory and New South Wales.

The royals will arrive in Canberra for an official welcome at Parliament House, where they will be greeted by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Following this, they will attend a reception where the guests include community, arts, sports and health leaders as well as politicians, and the King will give a speech.

From a remembrance perspective, King Charles and Queen Camilla will lay a wreath at the Australian War Memorial and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Memorial.

The King and Queen will also conduct a Fleet Review of the Royal Australian Navy in Sydney Harbour.

With a nod to the Indigenous population of Australia, the royals will tour the National Botanical Gardens to view the largest collection of Australian plants and how the Indigenous people use them. They will also hear how climate change is affecting Australia.

In Western Sydney, King Charles and Queen Camilla will attend a community barbecue to meet local residents and eat local cuisines.

King Charles’s Focus in Australia

King Charles will focus on sustainability and health, meeting with cancer researchers Professor Georgina Long and Professor Richard Scolyer to learn more about the work they do to help melanoma patients. Melanoma is one of the most common cancers in Australia.

King Charles will visit the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation to hear how they work, with firefighters, to help reduce bush fires that spread across Australia.

The King will also meet with representatives from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to hear how they focus on ensuring their culture is represented and how they support the local community.

Queen Camilla’s Focus in Australia

Queen Camilla will carry out engagements related to literature and reading, as well as domestic violence and family violence.

The Queen is expected to meet with young people who are participating in the Queen’s Commonwealth Essay Competition workshop in Sydney. In Canberra, she will meet with experts and survivors of domestic and family violence, and with the charity GIVIT, of which she is patron and which matches donors with people in need of support.

What to Expect in Samoa

Bolstered by CHOGM 2024, King Charles and Queen Camilla will arrive in Samoa for their first official visit in mere days.

Their Majesties will be welcomed with a Ava Fa’atupu ceremony and will go on to meet with Samoans at a separate event where they can learn more about the culture of the country. Among the Samoans King Charles will meet are young people, faith leaders and community leaders.

King Charles’s Focus in Samoa

Sustainability and biodiversity will be a cornerstone of King Charles’s engagements in Samoa—squeezed in between CHOGM 2024.

Among his engagements are a visit to a national park and a mangrove forest so he can see firsthand the efforts Samoans are taking to protect and restore the ecosystems. At a visit to the Samoa Botanical Gardens, he will plant a tree to mark the opening of The King’s Garden.

Queen Camilla’s Focus in Samoa

Literacy and domestic violence awareness will again be the focus of Queen Camilla’s solo engagements in Samoa.

Among her published engagements are visits to the Samoa Victim Support Group, which provides services to survivors of domestic violence and sexual abuse, and an aoga faifeau—a Samoan Pastor’s School—to see how students learn to read and write.

What to Expect from CHOGM 2024

We’ll have more details on CHOGM 2024 in a separate post, but King Charles and Queen Camilla are expected to host an opening reception when the meetings begin on 21 October, and will attend forums focused on their areas of specialty: King Charles in business; Queen Camilla in women’s issues.

More on CHOGM 2024 can be found at their official website.