NEWLYWEDS KATE AND WILLIAM TO HEAD DOWN UNDER
Tuesday May 3 2011 by Richard Palmer
PRINCE William plans to take his new wife on a tour of New Zealand and Australia in the next few months to introduce her to the two Commonwealth countries.
St James’s Palace is in talks with the governments of both nations about the trip, expected to happen in September or October.
Final details have not been agreed but the new Duke and Duchess of Cambridge hope to be in New Zealand for part of the Rugby World Cup which runs from September 9 to October 23.
They are also planning a short visit to Australia around the same time.
Buckingham Palace and St James’s Palace have discussed sending them to Perth in Western Australia to coincide with the Queen’s visit there for the biennial Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting from October 28 to 30.
A senior royal source said: “The question is, will that enhance the Queen’s visit and enhance the image of the Commonwealth, or will it become a circus that takes attention away from CHOGM?”
The Queen usually spends two or three days in the host nation before the summit starts. So it is possible the couple could visit Australia immediately after the rugby world cup final, just before the summit. William, 28, has built an affinity with the two countries after visiting them twice in the past 16 months. His marriage has sent support for the monarchy soaring in both nations, where there had been growing calls to cut the ties.
The Queen discussed the Commonwealth summit with Australia’s republican Prime Minister Julia Gillard in an audience after the wedding reception on Friday.
At the reception, Kate told New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key she was looking forward to seeing his country.
Mr Key said: “The first thing Kate said was she wants to visit New Zealand. She’s keen to come down and we’ll hopefully encourage her to come and visit us sometime very soon, so that was great.”
One potential problem is that a general election is due in New Zealand on November 26 and, by convention, royal visits do not take place in Commonwealth nations in the run-up to elections.
Opposition leaders fear Mr Key will use William and Kate’s visit to boost his popularity. He has said the couple can skirt convention by making their trip private rather than official.
An autumn tour would make it unlikely that William would be posted to the Falklands in September for 10 weeks’ military service, as was claimed yesterday.
They are coming! They are coming! Bugger the elections!
