The King is set to pause his cancer treatment while he visits Australia and Samoa from next week, according to reports.
The 75-year-old and Queen Camilla will visit the southern hemisphere between October 18 and 26, first travelling to Australia for six days before heading to the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa.
Questions had previously been raised whether the visit would go ahead amid the King’s health issues, but it is taking place in shortened form.
Charles will continue with cancer treatment until he departs on the trip, but his doctors are happy for it to be briefly paused while he is away, the Daily Mail reported.
His Majesty, who was diagnosed with an undisclosed form of cancer in February will then resume treatment upon his return to the UK.
He has been urged to slow down by advisors, but is understood to feel “energised” by work and is said to feel bolstered by keeping busy at a challenging time, the paper reported.
This will be the King’s 16th visit to Australia, but his first since ascending to the throne, and the royal couple will spend three days in Sydney and Canberra.
The pair last visited Australia in 2018, when they attended the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast and travelled to the Northern Territory.
This upcoming trip will include a number of engagements, including a barbecue with local Australians and a visit to Sydney Harbour.
On October 21, the couple will be welcomed to Parliament House in Canberra by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who has previously advocated for Australia to become a republic.
The visit will be seen as an opportunity for the King to reinforce his ties to Australia, but also comes at a time of growing debate about the future of the monarchy in the country.
A previously hoped-for trip to New Zealand will not take place after the King’s doctors advised earlier this year that an extended programme should be avoided.
Charles, 75, returned to public-facing duties earlier this year.
Last week the monarch was given a Samoan dancing lesson ahead of his trip to the Pacific nation – and was dubbed a man with “moves”.
Guests at a Commonwealth reception, celebrating achievements of people from the “family of nations”, asked him to dance - and he was happy to oblige.
Freddy Tuilagi, 53, the eldest brother of the famous rugby-playing siblings, choreographed the King’s performance, holding out his arms across his chest and fluttering them, which Charles copied.
The King smiled as he moved and was watched by the Queen, and at one point Mr Tuilagi, an honorary consul with the Samoan High Commission, gave Charles a ceremonial fly swat, which was hung over his shoulder.
Mr Tuilagi said after the performance: “I told King I’m going to dance for you, when you go to Samoa, this is how they will dance.”
