WILLS, KATE & THE KIDS ‘WE’RE COMING TO NZ!’
The Cambridges are making plans for a fun-filled family trip to Aotearoa
It’s been eight long years since the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s triumphant first tour as a young family to New Zealand, when the nation collectively fell in love with our future king and queen.
Prince George undertook his first-ever official royal engagement in Wellington, the toothy eight-month-old grabbing toys from Kiwi tots in a playdate organised by Plunket at Government House.
And now Woman’s Day can exclusively reveal that the Cambridges are in the late stages of planning a tour Down Under that will eclipse 2014’s 10-day trip combining Aotearoa and Australia.
“This time, they’d like to spend even more time in New Zealand, given they have a couple more kids to wrangle now, which makes it harder to pack a schedule,” reports a palace insider. “It goes without saying that Kate and William would never leave the children back in London, so Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will all be along for the ride.
“The current thinking is early next year, once New Zealand’s borders are open and Omicron has died down, with a visit across the Tasman also incorporated into the itinerary.”
Wills, 39, and Kate, 40, had to put plans of an early 2020 trip on ice due to the pandemic, our source explains.
“William was keen to get to Australia to visit with firefighters after the January bushfires of that year and it goes without saying that he’d have visited New Zealand as well. But then COVID happened and everything fell apart.
It was sad as they’d gotten the green light from the Queen, but then all travel was obviously taken off the table.”
Not to worry – we’re told the Cambridges are keen to create the perfect itinerary to make up for lost time.
“They’ve never forgotten their plan and they intend to make good on it,” the insider reveals. “They’ve already told the children, who are incredibly excited. Kate is keen to make the trip extremely child-friendly – not only for her own kids, but also the sorts of charities and causes she wants to champion.”
Woman’s Day understands that the couple has drawn up a “dream list” of places to visit, with particular focus on meeting with frontline workers, young people and environmental efforts.
“They also want to show some love to some of New Zealand’s world-famous tourism hotspots, like Queenstown and Rotorua, which have been hit hard by the lack of international visitors,” says the source.
“Kate and William are also particularly keen to visit with
the people who have been keeping New Zealanders safe, whether it’s nurses and doctors in the hospitals or people who staff MIQ. They know it hasn’t been easy to ensure Kiwis have one of the lowest COVID death rates in the world and they’d like to personally pay credit to these dedicated workers.”
The insider adds that Wills – who last year promoted walking as a way to manage mental health – might want to check out New Zealand’s newest Great Walk, the Paparoa Track on the West Coast. It’s also thought he and Kate may follow in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s footsteps by taking the kids to visit the National Kiwi Hatchery in Rotorua.
“But it won’t all be cute kiwis and stunning photo ops. William has also indicated he would like to revisit the victims of the Christchurch mosque shooting and hold another memorial for the city’s earthquake victims. The Queen feels this would be a crucial part of any visit and Wills couldn’t agree more.”
With such an action-packed itinerary, it’s clear that Wills and Kate will need a little R&R – not to mention some good old Kiwi hospitality.
“Kate often dreams about the amazing stay they had at Matakauri Lodge in Queenstown,” says our insider. “She’s hoping they’ll be able to include a couple of nights there for old times’ sake!”
‘They’ve told the children, who are incredibly excited’