King Charles III is gearing for his first international trip to Australia since ascending to the throne in September 2022, but it has once risk attached to it.
This highly anticipating visit to a foreign land alongside wife Queen Camilla from October 18, will be Charles' first international engagement amid cancer as his previous trip to new New Zealand was cancelled during the summer.
Although this royal trip will come off as a sign of Charles' resilience and strength amid his battle with the deadly disease, his close aides fear the risk of strict media scrutiny during his week long engagements.
A former royal staffer suggests that the firm won't be able to control the media in the same way as they can in their own country, therefore they will rely on outside agencies for security.
"It’s a risk this time, too," the former royal aide told Daily Beast, adding, “The royal rota [the accredited pack of British royal correspondents traveling with the king] aren’t too much of a problem—they aren’t going to say anything controversial about Charles’ health unless he literally falls down dead in the street."
They went on to explain, “But the Australian media aren’t operating under the same kind of restrictions. If anything goes wrong on the tour—from a bad trip or fall to a canceled engagement or God forbid, an early exit—they will go to town on it, and the British omertà will probably then evaporate in its wake."
"The decision to travel to Australia is, in some senses, a gamble," the former courtier claimed.
"It’s all about proving he isn’t dying, to be blunt. The problem is that if anything goes wrong, people will leap to the opposite conclusion. It’s make-or-break for Charles, I think," they noted.
King Charles and Queen Camilla will kick off their Australia tour from October 18, 2024 to review the Australian naval fleet in Sydney.
