Coronation tours start soon — but where?

The four most senior royals are hitting the road this autumn. Choosing where to visit won't be easy.

It’s July 25, and this is my look at which realms, Commonwealth countries, and other nations may be part of the coronation tours

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An official photo of King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Buckingham Palace, taken just before the coronation in May. Now, the royals and their staff are planning coronation tours. (Photo: Hugo Burnand)

CHOOSING WHICH NATION GETS TO BE PART OF A CORONATION TOUR

There are 193 countries in the United Nations, plus two observer states (the Vatican and state of Palestine). Which will host the most senior members of the House of Windsor as they start their post-coronation tours?

There are lots of factors that go into deciding when and where to hold a royal visit. Right now, Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace staff are finalizing details for upcoming tours to mark the coronation of King Charles III. It’s expected that the King and Queen Camilla, as well as Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales, will undertake a series of high-profile visits to reinforce ties weakened during the pandemic, which halted most tours.

WHY GO SOMEWHERE

First, there are the interests of the governments involved. Political leaders have to want a high-profile royal visit, and yes, not all governments welcome that attention.

a) When going to realm nations (where King Charles III is head of state), the monarch and heir to the throne need permission of the host nation for their tours (after all, they are touring as that nation’s head of state and/or heir). There was an eight-year gap between visits [clarification: by Charles] to Canada from 2001 to 2009 because successive Liberal and Conservative government didn’t extend an invitation.

b) For the rest of the 56-member Commonwealth, membership has its privileges. A Commonwealth nation often has an edge over a neighbouring non-Commonwealth nation when it comes to planning a regional tour.

c) For visits to other nations, the diplomatic and economic interests of the United Kingdom are usually of top concern. Strengthening relations with Europe was a big reason why the King and Queen’s first state visit was to Germany (the visit to France, scheduled to immediately precede the German tour, was postponed due to street protests over changing the retirement age in that nation).

Then there are the interests of the royals themselves. In November, Prince William will be in Singapore, a republic member of the Commonwealth, for the third annual Earthshot Prize ceremony. It’s a safe bet that he’ll be accompanied by Kate, Princess of Wales. It’s also been widely hinted that the stay in Singapore will be part of a larger regional tour.

TIMING

The royals usually take August and most if not all of September off, which could push any coronation tours later into the autumn. The calendar is already getting busy.

Charles and Camilla:

The King is expected to privately mark the death of his mother at Balmoral Castle, where she died on September 8, 2022, which would echo her tradition of privately marking the death of her father at Sandringham, where King George VI died on February 6, 1952.

Then there is the King’s first State Opening of Parliament, which is set for November 7. The King and Queen will need to be in London for it. And all the royals should be in London for Remembrance Sunday, which is on November 12 this year.

William and Kate:

Their children will be on break from their school from October 13 to October 30. The couple usually doesn’t undertake public engagements while their kids are on vacation, though perhaps they may take the kids on a tour. They’ve done this before, including during their last visit of Canada in 2016 and Germany and Poland in 2017.

On November 7, the same day as the State Opening of Parliament, that Earthshot Prize ceremony will be held in Singapore.

WHERE TO VISIT

It’s more than likely that at least one realm country will be on the fall coronation tour list. But which one? Aside from the U.K., there are 14 countries which have the King as head of state.

There’s a backlog of such visits as it’s been more than a decade since his mother made her last visit to a realm when she visited Australia in 2011. (Her last foreign visit was to attend the Commonwealth conference in Malta in 2015.)

To help evaluate where the royals may go, I’ve compiled a list of when the most senior royals (including the late Queen Elizabeth II) visited each of those 14 realms. As well, I’ve included their populations, for needed context.

THE AMERICAS

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA (pop: 100,000)

• QEII: 1985

• Charles & Camilla: 2017 (Charles alone)

• William & Kate: n/a

BAHAMAS (pop: 405,000)

• QEII: 1994

• Charles & Camilla: 1973 (Charles alone)

• William & Kate: 2022

BELIZE (pop: 400,000)

• QEII: 1994

• Charles & Camilla: n/a

• William & Kate: 2022

CANADA (pop: 40 million)

• QEII: 2010

• Charles & Camilla: 2022

• William & Kate: 2016

GRENADA (pop: 125,000)

• QEII: 1985

• Charles & Camilla: 2019

• William & Kate: n/a

JAMAICA (pop: 2.8 million)

• QEII: 2002

• Charles & Camilla: 2008

• William & Kate: 2022

SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS (pop: 50,000)

• QEII: 1985

• Charles & Camilla: 2019

• William & Kate: n/a

SAINT LUCIA (pop: 145,000)

• QEII: 1985

• Charles & Camilla: 2019 (Charles alone)

• William & Kate: n/a

SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES (pop: 105,000)

• QEII: 1985

• Charles & Camilla: 2019

• William & Kate: n/a

OCEANIA

AUSTRALIA (pop: 26 million)

• QEII: 2011

• Charles & Camilla: 2018

• William & Kate: 2014

NEW ZEALAND (pop: 5 million)

• QEII: 2002

• Charles & Camilla: 2019

• William & Kate: 2014

PAPUA NEW GUINEA (pop: 10 million)

• QEII: 1982

• Charles & Camilla: 1984 (Charles alone)

• William & Kate: n/a

SOLOMON ISLANDS (pop: 705,000)

• QEII: 1982

• Charles & Camilla: 2019 (Charles alone)

• William & Kate: 2012

TUVALU (pop: 11,000)

• QEII: 1982

• Charles & Camilla: n/a

• William & Kate: 2012

HOW IMPORTANT ARE THESE FIRST TOURS?