Senior Royals prepare for two years of ‘soft democracy’ blitz tours to shore up ties with Commonwealth and rest of world
- The King and Queen hope that the display of ‘soft diplomacy’ will strengthen relations
- Increases the possibility of the Prince and Princess of Wales traveling with their children
- King Charles has yet to visit 14 Commonwealth realms where he is head of state.
A two-year barrage of formal visits by high-ranking royals is planned in a bid to protect ties with the Commonwealth and the rest of the world.
The King and Queen and the Prince and Princess of Wales hope that a display of “soft diplomacy” will protect relations with countries like Australia, who want to go it alone.
The tours raise the possibility that Kate and William will take George, 10, Charlotte, eight, and Louis, five, with them.
Charles has made only one state visit, to Germany in March, since he became king.
As monarch, he has yet to visit any of the 14 Commonwealth realms outside the UK where he is head of state.
A two-year barrage of formal visits by high-ranking royals is planned in a bid to protect ties with the Commonwealth and the rest of the world. Pictured: Baby George visiting Australia with her parents, the Prince and Princess of Wales, in 2014
State visit: Queen Elizabeth II with the Duke of Edinburgh during her visit to Kenya in 1952
But last night a palace source said: ‘State visits are back in business.’
Palace insiders have suggested that senior royals have been frustrated by the government’s perceived slow process for approving visits, which are decided by the Foreign Office and the Royal Visits Committee.
Plans are now afoot for a rescheduled visit to France by the King and Queen in September, postponed due to unrest in March, and, next year, the King will visit Samoa when he hosts a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government.
As The Mail on Sunday has revealed, the King and Queen will also travel to Kenya later this year.
Kenya does not recognize the king as head of state, but he is considered an important part of the Commonwealth.
William and Kate are expected to visit the Commonwealth country of Singapore in the fall.
Kensington Palace has announced that William will go to New York in September.
Historian Ian Lloyd said: ‘A visit by Charles to Canada and one by the Welsh to Australia and New Zealand would capitalize on global interest in the Coronation.
They need to do this soon before interest wanes, and taking the children of Wales would also prove to be a public relations triumph.”
He added: ‘The problem is that the government asks them to go on tours that they want to use real soft power to promote the country.
‘So the King’s desire to maintain links with the Commonwealth has to work in conjunction with the Government.
“This was easy in the early days of Elizabeth’s reign, when prime ministers like Churchill had a romanticized view of the old empire.”
Elizabeth was queen of 31 Commonwealth ‘realms’. Today there are 14, and referendums are planned in which more could disappear.
Yesterday Jamaica’s Prime Minister Andrew Holness said he hoped to sever colonial ties as soon as the Queen died, but red tape and “a long period of public education and consultation” were dragging the process out.
Antigua and Barbuda could also secede. Prime Minister Gaston Browne told the visiting Earl of Wessex last year that Britain must pay reparations for its ‘atrocities’.
Last week, the Australian state of Victoria announced that it would no longer host the 2026 Commonwealth Games because it “does not represent good value for money”.
Sir Vernon Bogdanor, professor of government at King’s College London, said the Royal Family could still enjoy a close relationship with Commonwealth countries after they cease to be kingdoms.
He said: ‘It wouldn’t mean breaking ties. The vast majority of member states are republics.’
