King Charles is set to embark on a tour of Australia and Samoa, where he will preside over the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting.
An insider has revealed that his upcoming Royal engagement is a way for the Buckingham Palace to let the world know that the monarch is doing well.
Despite canceling a trip to New Zealand and “modifying” his engagements due to health concerns, Charles’ upcoming journey is seen as a “testament to his determination and medical progress.”
However, the monarch will face intense scrutiny during the week-long tour with palace aides acknowledge the risks associated with his upcoming tour.
But a former Royal aide has split to the Daily Beast that Charles’ foreign tour is a gamble for the Buckingham Palace in order to debunk rumours that the monarch is “dying.”
“The royal rota [the accredited pack of British royal correspondents traveling with the king] aren’t too much of a problem—they aren’t going to say anything controversial about Charles’ health unless he literally falls down dead in the street,” the Royal staffer said.
“But the Australian media aren’t operating under the same kind of restrictions. If anything goes wrong on the tour—from a bad trip or fall to a canceled engagement or God forbid, an early exit—they will go to town on it, and the British omertà will probably then evaporate in its wake.
“It’s all about proving he isn’t dying, to be blunt. The problem is that if anything goes wrong, people will leap to the opposite conclusion. It’s make-or-break for Charles, I think.”