The King is set to return to a full overseas tour schedule next year.
Buckingham Palace has announced that it is planning a full overseas tour schedule for the King next year, despite his ongoing cancer treatment.
Speaking at the conclusion of the King and Queen’s nine-day visit to Australia and Samoa, a senior palace official said: “We’re now working on a pretty normal-looking full overseas tour programme for next year.
“Which is a high for us to end on, to know that we can be thinking in those terms, subject to sign-off by doctors.”
The trip, which was the King’s first visit of this size and scope since his cancer diagnosis earlier this year, had originally included a visit to New Zealand, but this was ruled out on the advice of his doctors.
The palace official added: “I think it’s great testament to the King’s devotion to service and duty that he was prepared to come this far and he was incredibly happy and very, very determined to do so.”
The schedule, which involved the King and Queen undertake up to 10 engagements a day, had been tailored specifically to accommodate periods of rest and included only one evening event.
The King is said to have “genuinely loved” his time in Australia and Samoa and has “thrived” on the programme.
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The senior palace official added: “It’s lifted his spirits, his mood and his recovery. In that sense, the tour – despite its demands – has been the perfect tonic.”
And yet the King’s mortality was never far from centre stage, with even the monarch himself referencing it on a few occasions.
Closing his speech during the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth heads of government meeting (Chogm), he said: “For my part, I can assure you today that for however many years God grants me, I will join you and the people of the Commonwealth on every step of this journey. Let us learn from the lessons of the past. Let us be proud of who we are today.”
And speaking again at the traditional farewell ceremony in the village of Siumu on the last day of the tour, he said: “I shall always remain devoted to this part of the world and hope that I survive long enough to come back again and see you.”
But for the palace, this is a positive reflection of how the King is “dealing” with his cancer diagnosis.
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The palace official said the King was “a great believer in mind, body and soul,” adding that this combination, mixed with a doctor being with him to make sure he is properly looked after, “makes for a very successful visit in these circumstances”.
And his endurance is bolstered by the support of the Queen.
The palace official added: “The King gets great strength from the Queen being there, not least because when she keeps it real.”
It is understood that the King will recommence his cancer treatment on his return to the UK, having paused it whilst abroad.
In addition to the public-facing engagements, the King’s constitutional duty has continued behind the scenes during the tour with the red state boxes of government being flown in from London.
And yet the trip wasn’t without its challenges; there was the confrontational moment in Canberra when Lidia Thorpe stormed towards the stage shouting: “You are not my King, this is not your land.”
Australian senator Lidia Thorpe shouts towards the King. Pic: Reuters
But the King remained “unruffled”.
The palace official said: “He’s been around a long time. As always, [he] kept calm, carried on.”
He believes “free speech is the cornerstone of democracy, and so everyone is entitled to their views,” the official added.
And when the Caribbean countries of the Commonwealth raised the issue of reparations at Chogm, he characteristically did not “duck” the issues, according to the palace official.
“It’s very easy to run away from some of these issues. But the King isn’t one for doing that.”