It’s official. The King and Queen are heading Down Under, on the first visit from a reigning monarch since the late Queen Elizabeth in 2011.

The King, 75, who is still being treated for cancer, and Queen, 76, will visit Canberra and New South Wales in October.

Governor-General Sam Mostyn said the King had a “deep affection for and connection to the people of Australia”, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said they were “always welcome visitors”.

“The King has a deep regard for our great nation, and has always spoken warmly of the time he has spent here and the astounding beauty of our extraordinary continent,” Albanese said.

“I look forward welcoming the King and Queen back to Australia for this important visit.”

But perhaps a strong contender for the King’s most notable visit to Australia was his six-week visit in 1983 with his then wife, the late Princess Diana, and toddler Prince William.

The then-Prince and Princess of Wales were just two years into their marriage. Their arrival came amid the republican stance of Australia’s new prime minister Bob Hawke.

Then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana at Uluru in 1983. Photo: Getty

Friendly strategy

A Sydney Morning Herald article from March 1983 said the royal couple was “working hard to demonstrate that most Australians think too well of them to seriously contemplate” becoming a republic.

“So far their friendly strategy is not working quite as well as [Buckingham] Palace might hope,” it observed.

“The crowds who visited royal events in the Northern Territory were smallish, and consisted overwhelmingly of mums, teachers and children, and a few British expatriates.

“But Prince Charles and Lady Diana plainly enjoy meeting and talking to children and have received extremely favourable press and TV coverage on their encounters with the kids.”

Despite that, the visit had a lasting impact – mostly for Diana, as it became clear during this time she was a clear public favourite.

“The crowds which have turned out to see her – and assault her with flowers – have been enormous by Australian standards,” her husband wrote during the trip.

“Officials say they are the biggest since my mama came in 1954 … I worry so much about what I have landed her in at such an impressionable age – the intensity of interest must be terrifying for her.”

Fear of flying

Just as the Duke of Edinburgh was by Queen Elizabeth’s side during every royal trip to Australia, Queen Camilla will join her husband on the long trip later this year.

However, she has previously left royal tours early, due to a reported aversion to flying.

Asked about the then-Duchess of Cornwall’s plans to return home after visiting Australia in 2018 while her husband went on to other Commonwealth nations, a Clarence House spokesperson let the detail slip to the Daily Mail.

“There are no health reasons [for her pulling out after two days]. She is as fit as a flea,” they said.

“The duchess does not like flying. But I think she sometimes has to embrace that fear and get on with it.”

The then-Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall on the Gold Coast’s Broadbeach in April 2018. Photo: Getty

In 2018, the King and Queen met and greeted thousands of royal fans.

But The Guardian noted their initial reception was “barely a tenth” of the 45,000-strong crowd that had clamoured to see Queen Elizabeth seven years prior.

What’s on the agenda?

The royal couple’s visit to Australia is timed to follow the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Samoa.

CHOGM, which begins on October 21, brings together delegations from 56 countries in Africa, the Caribbean and Americas, Europe, Asia and the Pacific.

In Samoa, the King and Queen will celebrate “the strong bilateral relationship” between the Pacific Island nation and the UK.

Planned visits to Fiji and New Zealand were cut from the royals’ itinerary on medical advice.

The King is still being treated for an unspecified cancer.

Buckingham Palace said the couple’s program in October will be subject to doctors’ advice, with further modifications possible if required.

On the Australian leg of the trip, engagements are planned for the ACT and NSW.

Albanese said planning for the visit was well under way. Full details are expected to be announced soon.