King Charles is planning the Royal Family’s biggest-ever series of tours around the globe to kick off his reign.
The monarch will prioritise visits to Australia, New Zealand and a number of Commonwealth realms in the Caribbean.
It will be a two-year blitz of foreign travel aimed at “extending a hand of friendship and support”, royal sources have revealed.
The Prince and Princess of Wales are also being lined up for a “major support role” as the royals begin a new era after Queen Elizabeth’s passing.
The King is also understood to be keen to undertake a number of solo trips, both at home and abroad. This will allow the Queen Consort to undertake more engagements for her personal projects.
A royal source said: “The King and his family are keen to hit the ground running in these crucial first few months and years of his reign.
“He certainly wants to carry on the long-held mantra from his late mother of being seen to be believed, and is very keen to get out and meet as many people as possible.”
Sources have said the royals could undertake as many trips as the Queen packed in during the 1970s, with her 52 Commonwealth visits and 21 trips to other countries to mark her 25th jubilee.
The King has already opened discussions with his chief advisers over visits to major British realms including Australia and Canada “as soon as possible”. He has also raised the importance of visiting the 14 other nations where he is king.
Government officials in New South Wales this week revealed plans for a “much-anticipated” royal tour in 2024 to coincide with the 200th anniversary of democracy in Australia, although sources suggest Prince William and Kate had also previously discussed plans for a tour Down Under in spring 2023.
A postponed trip to India, Pakistan and Bangladesh for Charles and Camilla is also being rescheduled, with options to send William and Kate at the top of the agenda.
The Foreign Office is also keen to use the diplomatic power of the monarchy to build bridges with neighbours such as France and Germany following Brexit.
Plans for Charles and Camilla to visit France next month are understood to have been postponed but will now be rescheduled for next year. William and Kate will travel to the United States next month for the second instalment of William’s Earthshot Prize environmental project.
Charles, 73, has so far visited 45 of 56 Commonwealth countries, many of them on several occasions.
Royal sources have revealed he is “acutely aware” that his accession to the throne comes at a time of particular unrest across a number of realms, especially in the Caribbean, as they assess whether to become republics.
Charles is also likely to be asked to travel to South Africa on the back of preparations being made to hold his first state visit of his reign next month.
He and Camilla will host President Cyril Ramaphosa and his wife, First Lady Tshepo Motsepe.
