King Charles has spent almost his entire life performing royal duties, firstly on behalf of his mother Queen Elizabeth II, and now, in his role as monarch. And a big part of those duties includes frequent royal tours abroad – of which Charles is estimated to have taken over 200.
He headed off on his first royal tour at 18, when he accompanied his father, Prince Philip and sister Princess Anne on a trip to Jamaica to open the Commonwealth Games in Kingston. Since then, the monarch has been on countless trips abroad, visiting both Commonwealth countries and more, both on his own and with other members of his family.
So what are some of King Charles's best royal tour moments? The King has experienced his fair share of comical, heartwarming and significant moments while on official tours – from sweet moments with animals to fun evenings spent dancing, and his first tour abroad with Camilla after their wedding. Here are some of the best moments from HRH's many tours from across the decades.
32 of King Charles's best royal tour moments
When he and Camilla held two adorable koalas
During a trip to Australia in 2012 – to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee – the then-Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, were handed two of the nation’s most beloved animals to hold; a pair of adorable koalas.
In front of Government House in Adelaide, Charles held the bigger koala while Camilla was handed the smaller one; and in a picture-perfect moment, the koalas were seen sharing an adorable kiss/nuzzle of their noses! Camilla and Charles looked just as delighted as we would have been, making this one of our very favourite romantic moments between the King and his wife.
A wardrobe malfunction in Jamaica 2000
The former Prince of Wales visited Jamaica in 2000, spending time in Trenchtown, Kingston, the capital city. And while there, he delighted us with one of our favourite King Charles moments.
During the tour, he had a meeting with Rita Marley, Bob Marley’s wife. Rita took the chance to give Charles the gift of a Rastafarian hat, which prompted a funny moment when the then-King-to-be placed said hat on backwards! The funny moment saw the King with the faux hair from the hat across his face, prompting him to realise his mistake and turn the hat around, much to the delight of the people laughing around him.
Playing the drums in Sierra Leone
Clearly never afraid to get stuck in, Charles flexed his musical muscles during a trip to Sierra Leone in November 2006.
The then-Prince of Wales visited the Golf Club in Freetown and was invited to play the drums alongside the dancers of the Sierra Leone National Band Troupe. Ever the good sport, Charles gave it his very best shot, playing the set of drums for a good couple of seconds – before handing the drumsticks back over to the professionals!
Meeting Barbra Streisand in the US
While this isn’t strictly a royal tour moment, we love this story of one of Charles's visits abroad. While on naval duty in San Diego in 1974, at the age of 26, Charles decided to take an impromptu trip to a recording studio in Los Angeles, where singing icon Barbra Streisand was recording the album for the film Funny Girl.
Reportedly, the young Prince had a crush on Barbra, so took the opportunity to meet her – and the pair even shared a cup of tea! In her 2023 memoir, My Name Is Barbra, the singer and actress explained, "The prince was utterly charming when he came to the studio, but frankly, it’s hard to have a real conversation when you’re surrounded by fifty photographers snapping pictures.
"I was drinking tea and offered him a sip… and the future king of England actually drank from my cup, which was apparently unprecedented."
A photo opportunity in Mexico
During an official 2014 trip to Campeche, Mexico, an iconic photo was taken of Charles in front of the Edzna Maya archaeological site.
Posing in front of the ruins with a smile on his face and a pair of slick sunglasses, the future King looked pretty delighted to be on his trip. The visit was part of a four-day visit to Mexico as part of a wider tour of Columbia and Mexica. Sadly, his partner Camilla was unable to accompany him on this part of the trip as she wasn't feeling well.
Making cocktails in Cuba
Always up for having a chuckle, Camilla and Charles got behind the bar while visiting Havana, Cuba for an official royal tour in March 2019. Dining at a privately owned restaurant, the royal couple were allowed behind the bar and were even seen making a couple of glasses of mojitos together, while smiling and giggling at their skills.
It was a historic visit for another reason too, as, on that trip, Camilla and Charles became the first members of the British royal family to visit Cuba in an official capacity. So this sweet royal tour moment isn't only amusing, it's a significant one too.
Visiting Vimy Ridge with his sons
King Charles, Prince Harry and Prince William didn’t go on many royal tours together once Harry and William got older, but they did get together for a rare trip abroad for an important cause in April 2017.
The King – before he was King – and his sons travelled to Vimy in France, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the battle of Vimy Ridge, which took place during World War One.
During the trip, the royal trio toured a tunnel that was dug during the war, met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and attended a service to commemorate the bloody battle, which left 3,598 men dead. As mentioned, it was somewhat of a rarity to see Charles on an official tour abroad with his two sons, making it a particularly special visit.
His first royal tour with Diana
Charles’s first tour with the then-Princess of Wales was an important moment for Diana, taking place two years after their 1981 wedding, in 1983.
Their tour took place across Australia and New Zealand – but it wasn’t just the royal couple travelling across the two countries. Diana and Charles also opted to bring their eldest son Prince William with them to the tour, who was just 10 months old at the time. The young family travelled across Canberra, Sydney, Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and more, so it was certainly a busy trip for them with a young child in tow.
His 1970 tour with Anne, Queen Elizabeth and Philip
In the early 1970s, a young Prince Charles ventured on many royal trips abroad, and one of his first as a young royal, acting in an official capacity, was to New Zealand and Australia with his mother, Queen Elizabeth, father Prince Philip, and his sister, Princess Anne. It marked the first trip Charles ever made to Australia and New Zealand
The royal quad travelled throughout the entirety of the country, but the visit was mainly arranged to mark the 200th anniversary of Captain James Cook’s arrival in Australia – a British explorer who famously made voyages between the UK and Australia and New Zealand three times in the late 1700s.
His 1998 trip to Vancouver with William and Harry
Following Princess Diana's death the previous year, Prince Charles made sure to bring his two sons along on a working trip to Canada in 1998, when William was around 16, and Harry around 14.
They started their trip with a six-day working tour of Vancouver, where they met with adoring crowds, attended receptions with various heads of government, and took in some of the sights of Vancouver. But this arguably wasn’t the most significant part of Charles, William and Harry’s trip – this was the royal tour in which a young Prince William first became somewhat of a heartthrob, with young girls sharing great excitement at meeting him! This was a moment shown during Netflix's The Crown.
After finishing up their official duties, Prince Charles took his two sons on a private holiday to the ski destination Whistler, where they spent several days after their official tour of Vancouver.
His first royal tour with Camilla in 2005
In November of 2005, just a few months after their April wedding, Charles and his new wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, headed off on their first official royal tour together, visiting New York City and Washington D.C, in America for a week. The tour was filled with memorable moments for Camilla and Charles alike.
The trip was a combination of light-hearted activities and important meetings. They enjoyed a meeting with organic farmers in New Orleans and a trip to San Francisco, but they also unveiled a cornerstone in the British Garden (then called The British Memorial Garden), in Hanover Square in Manhattan, which pays tribute to British citizens and citizens of the Commonwealth who lost their lives in the September 11th terrorist attacks on New York City.
Camilla and Charles also had private meetings with the family members of some of the 67 British people killed in the attacks.
Surprised with a kiss while swimming in Australia
Perhaps one of the most newsworthy royal tour moments from King Charles was during his 1983 tour of Australia and New Zealand.
During the tour, Charles would often take the opportunity to enjoy an early morning swim in the warm Australia waters. And that’s exactly what he did when he headed down to Cottesloe Beach in Perth at 6.30am one morning, taking part in a swim alongside some friends.
But the part of the morning that particularly captured the attention of the world’s press was when he was surprised with a kiss on the cheek by Australian model Jane Priest. It’s not clear whether the kiss was a planned publicity stunt, or whether it was just a chance encounter – but the newly-married Charles appropriately resisted!
Visiting Bethlehem in 2020
As monarch of the United Kingdom, King Charle is also Head of the Church of England – so his 2020 trip to Bethlehem, ahead of his role of King, was a significant one for followers of the church, and for the King himself.
During his short, two-day trip to Israel, he took time to visit Bethlehem, which is believed by Christians to be the place of Jesus’s birth. Whilst there, he visited the Church of the Nativity, the oldest Christian church in the world, and he also gave a speech to Palestinian Christians at a reception. Later in the afternoon, he also visited an olive grove, helping to plant a few saplings, too.
Meeting Ronald Reagan in 1985
Prince Charles had a historic meeting with President Ronald Reagan in 1981, sitting down for a private meeting with him at the White House during a tour of both Washington D.C and Williamsburg. It's not clear what the King-to-be and the President spoke about during their meeting, but some report that, amongst other things, they discussed their shared love of horse riding.
After chatting, Charles attended a dinner party held by Ronald and Nancy Reagan at the White House. The trip marked Charles’ third visit to the US, at the age of 33.
Opening the Commonwealth Games on behalf of the Queen in 2010
In October 2010, Charles and Camilla ventured to Delhi in India to open the Commonwealth Games on behalf of Queen Elizabeth.
After opening the games and attending the Opening Ceremony at Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the couple also took the time to visit sites and organisations aligned with their interests.
For example, Charles visited the Punjab Energy Development Agency in Chandigarh as well as an organic farm in the area, while Camilla headed off to pay a visit to the Veerni Foundation, a charity organisation which aims to help vulnerable women and girls in rural India by providing them with a secondary school education.
With Camilla in Egypt
The former Prince of Wales and the former Duchess of Cornwall embarked on a royal tour of the Middle East in 2021.
One of their stops was Cairo, Egypt, where they got a chance to take an iconic, tourist-style photo in front of the Great Pyramids of Giza and the Great Sphinx of Giza. The royal couple looked thrilled to be there, standing side-by-side with their arms around one another as photographers snapped their picture.
Meeting a dog in Havana
The royal family are all known to adore dogs, so one of the best royal tour moments captured of King Charles was during his 2019 trip to Havana, Cuba. He had an adorable moment with the sweetest little puppy during a tour of the organic farm ‘Finca Marta’.
In the pictures, the dog is seen sniffing the royal’s hand and jacket as though leaning in for some affection, before Charles sweetly strokes the top of the dog’s head – which the animal seems to adore. The King clearly enjoyed the encounter which isn't all that surprising, as he and Camilla actually share two Jack Russell Terriers at home, Beth and Bluebell.
Laughing with Camilla in the Highlands
Charles and Camilla clearly had a great time on an official royal trip to the Scottish Highlands just after their 2005 wedding.
The royal couple attended the Mey Highland Games in Charles’ capacity as Honorary Chieftain of said games, a title his grandmother, the Queen Mother, used to hold. The Games are held just a short distance from the royal residence of Castle Mey, which was his grandmother’s favourite holiday destination.
But arguably the best moment of the visit was when the couple were handed a quaich (a type of shallow drinking cup) filled with whiskey as a wedding gift, which they were then encouraged to drink out of. For some reason, the moment left the couple in fits of giggles, giving us one of the most fun pictures ever of King Charles on a royal visit.
His first trip as King in March 2023
One of the most significant royal tour moments for King Charles was his very first overseas visit as monarch, which took place in March 2023 with a trip to Germany.
Though he was yet to be coronated at the time, Charles had (unofficially) been King for six months. Both King Charles and Queen Camilla were due to visit France and Germany for their first tour abroad as monarchs, but due to protests in France, they reduced their visit to a three-day trip to Germany alone. It was considered to be an important way to bolster relations between Britain and Germany post-Brexit.
During the trip, King Charles III gave an address to Germany's parliament, the Bundestag, enjoyed a state banquet at Bellevue Palace, and visited the St. Nikolai Memorial in Hamburg, a World War One monument.
A historic (and fun) trip to Argentina
King Charles has proven that he's no stranger to getting his groove on during royal tours, and he certainly got stuck in with the dancing during an official visit to Argentina in 1999!
The former Prince of Wales was attending an event at the The Alvear Palace Hotel in Buenos Aires, when he was pulled up onto the dance floor by a tango expert to try his hand at the Latin-style dance. And he good-naturedly took part, showing off his own skills to the room!
During his time in Buenos Aires, he also pair his respects to those lost in the Falklands War and met with Argentinian veterans, and even squeezed in a bit of bee-keeping, too.
Making a speech alongside President Nixon
During an official visit to the US in 1970, at the age of just 22, Prince Charles made a speech in the grounds of the White House alongside President Richard Nixon and his sister Princess Anne.
During the speech, Charles expressed his thanks to the President and his wife Pat for welcoming him and his sister to the country, and his excitement at being there, given that it was his very first trip to the United States. It was also his first official visit abroad without his mother the Queen or his father, Prince Philip – so there’s no denying that it was a big moment for the then-future King.
Attending a Hollywood premiere
During an official tour of Southern California in 1994, Charles joined a couple of the biggest actors in the world to walk the red carpet at a film premiere.
During the Los Angeles portion of his visit, the monarch-to-be took the time to join Hollywood royalty for the premiere of the film adaption of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. He joined the likes of Helena Bonham Carter and Kenneth Brannagh, director of the film, on the red carpet, posing for pictures before heading in to watch the film. Nowadays, royals are much more of a regular feature on red carpets, but it wasn't something the family had done often before Charles’s appearance in the early 90s.
Bowling in America
The future King showed off his sporting prowess (or lack thereof) during a 2015 trip to Washington DC, when he and Camilla visited the Armed Forces Retirement Home there, which also has a convenient bowling alley inside it!
The couple spent the morning meeting with veterans who spent their lives in the armed forces, and now live at the retirement home, before trying their hand at a bit of bowling in the six-lane bowling alley, situated within the compound. When the officer who manages the alley asked if he’d be interested in trying his hand at bowling, Charles agreed, before admitting, “I haven’t done this for a long time.” He ended up knocking over four pins. Not bad, but also not great.
Visiting the tomb of his grandmother in Jerusalem
One of the most significant moments of Prince Charles's royal tours was when he visited the tomb of his late grandmother, Princess Alice.
During his 2020 trip to Israel, Charles took a moment to visit the Russian Orthodox Church of St. Mary Magdalene, where his grandmother Princess Alice of Battenberg, Prince Philip’s mother, is laid to rest. During World War II in Greece, Charles’s grandmother famously helped to hide Jewish families from German forces, and also distributed rations to police and children in the streets, despite the dangers of war all around her.
After paying tribute to his grandmother, Charles also attended the World Holocaust Forum and made a speech acknowledging her selfless acts. He said, "I have long drawn inspiration from the selfless actions of my dear grandmother, Princess Alice of Greece, who in 1943, in Nazi-occupied Athens, saved a Jewish family by taking them into her home and hiding them."
Representing the Queen in Rwanda
Just months before Queen Elizabeth II’s death, Charles and Camilla travelled to Rwanda, Africa, to open the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2022, a duty the Queen undertook many times during her 70-year reign.
Taking the Queen’s place, Charles posed for photographs alongside leaders of the many other Commonwealth countries, before delivering a speech marking the beginning of proceedings. During his speech, he paid tribute to his mother and also acknowledged the royal family’s part in the controversial history of the Commonwealth.
"To unlock the power of our common future, we must also acknowledge the wrongs which have shaped our past…For while we strive together for peace, prosperity and democracy I want to acknowledge that the roots of our contemporary association run deep into the most painful period of our history. I cannot describe the depths of my personal sorrow at the suffering of so many, as I continue to deepen my own understanding of slavery’s enduring impact. "
Attending the State Funeral of President George H. W Bush
King Charles has made many important trips to the US in his official role as a royal over the years, and he returned in December 2018 for the state funeral of President George H. W. Bush at the National Cathedral in Washington D.C., as a representative of the Queen.
He joined a room full of world leaders and former world leaders keen to pay their respects to the late President after his passing, such as the former Chancellor of Germany Angela Merkel, Queen Rania of Jordan, former British Prime Minister John Major, and President of the US at the time, Donald Trump.
His first trip back to the US in four years, it was likely a somewhat emotional moment for Charles, who met with the late President a number of times on previous official visits to America.
A 1969 trip to Malta
The then-Prince Charles visited Malta on an official visit in November 1969, one of his first official visits abroad as a member of the royal family.
He was there to take part in the 200-year anniversary celebrations of the opening of the University of Malta, and officially opened a new building there in his capacity as the Prince of Wales.
It was an important trip for the young Prince, as Malta is a significant place for his family. His parents, Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip spent a couple of years living there at the beginning of their marriage when the Duke of Edinburgh was stationed there as a naval officer.
Sharing a flower with Camilla in Nice
King Charles and Queen Camilla are known for sharing tender moments while out and about on official royal duties, and they shared a sweet moment during a visit to France in May 2018.
The royal couple took part in a five-day tour of France and Greece, and on one day, stopped in at the Nice Flower Market. As they wandered around the market, the former Duchess of Cornwall was offered a beautiful pink rose from a vendor, which she smelt, before extending it to her husband to do the same.
The pair were reduced to giggles when it appeared that Camilla had held the rose too close to Charles’s nose!
Receiving an honour from Meryl Streep
Hollywood royalty met actual royalty in January 2007, when Meryl Street and Charles were introduced at the Harvard Club in New York City. The King-to-be was there on an official visit, to receive the Global Environmental Citizen Award from Harvard Medical School's Centre for Health and the Global Environment.
Meryl delivered a speech at the event honouring Charles and his contributions to the world of environmental activism, at one point saying, "Sir, your understanding and your courage and passion, and your commitment to the future is why the Centre for Health and the Global Environment is honoured to give you its Global Environmental Citizen Award."
Touring a Kenyan forest
In November 2023, King Charles and Queen Camilla made a visit to Kenya, touring Nairobi and Mombasa to explore the ways in which the UK and Kenya are working together on issues like climate change, youth issues and sustainable development.
During the visit, an iconic photo of the monarch was taken as he toured the Karura Forest alongside Wanjira Mathai, daughter of Professor Wangari Maathai, the first African woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize, and Professor Karanja Njoroge, a Board member of the Friends of Karura Forest.
The forest is located directly in the middle of the city of Nairobi, and is considered an urban forest – Charles' visit was intended to help champion forests and green spaces in urban areas.
Dancing during a royal tour of Fiji
As a young Prince, Charles travelled to Fiji for a four-day tour of the South Pacific country to mark 100 years since the Deed of Cession of Fiji to Britain.
One night, a reception was held in his honour – and Charles clearly let his hair down when he danced with a woman, watched on by other locals, and with a wreath of flowers around his neck. We'd certainly say this is one of the best pictures of the royal on an official trip abroad!
Meeting Mother Teresa
During his very first official royal tour to India, a 31-year-old Charles travelled to Kolkata to meet with Mother Teresa at Mother House, where the pair enjoyed a private conversation for around half an hour, before visiting Shishu Bhavan, an orphanage run by Missionaries of Charity, an organisation Mother Teresa founded.
The then-Prince Charles and Mother Teresa watched a performance from the children, before meeting with little ones living at the orphanage, which is reported to have left Charles feeling emotional, on what was likely a very poignant visit for the royal.
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