King of Australia’s royal tour nearly didn’t happen

Getty ImagesKing Charles III and Queen Camilla are due to arrive in Australia on Friday on a historic royal tour.
Eight months ago, I didn’t think I’d be writing those words.
In February, Buckingham Palace announced the King had cancer and all his “public-facing duties” stopped – on doctors’ orders.
Back then, a trip to Australia seemed unthinkable. A flight of around 24 hours, a punishing time difference, and days of royal engagements would surely be too much for a 75-year-old dealing with a cancer diagnosis and embarking on treatment.
But palace aides never took this trip completely off the table – whenever it came up, their language was careful. “It’s not been ruled out”, they’d say, or “decisions will be made on the advice of doctors”, and “the King needs to focus on treatment for cancer first”.
And by late Spring, there were signs the visit might still go ahead.
Some of the King’s team travelled to Australia and Samoa to assess what was possible and finalise arrangements, liaising with the Foreign Office and both the Australian and New Zealand governments.
Would the King be well enough to cope with the rigours of the tour? The answer was yes – with some important changes.
King and Queen land in Sydney on tour of Australia