Britain's Prince Charles (L) and the Duchess of Cornwall
greet well-wishers at Windsor Castle after their wedding at
Windsor in southern England, April 9, 2005. Photo by
Reuters.
Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, are
headed down under, but not down south.
Christchurch is as far south as the Prince of Wales and the
duchess will venture on their six-day visit to New Zealand in
November to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee.
In Christchurch, the couple will look at the earthquake
recovery effort and attend the A and P show before flying out
on November 16.
The couple will visit Auckland, Wellington and Feilding,
where they will attend an event with farmers, and the Prince
of Wales, who is the Air Commodore-in-Chief, will make an
informal visit to Ohakea to celebrate the 75th anniversary of
the Royal New Zealand Air Force.
Prime Minister John Key announced the first details of the
visit yesterday.
During their visit, the couple would focus on New Zealand
excellence and innovation in sport, agriculture and business.
Prince Charles would also introduce his wife to New
Zealanders as she was on her first visit to New Zealand, Mr
Key said.
The prince last visited New Zealand in 2005 when, in addition
to North Island main centres, he visited Dunedin and Otago.
There was some disappointment in Dunedin yesterday the couple
would not be travelling south this time.
The dean of St Paul's Cathedral, the Very Rev Dr Trevor
James, and Dunedin Mayor Dave Cull had invited the couple to
visit Dunedin for an ecumenical service followed by a civic
reception.
Mr Cull said it was a shame they would not make it to the
country's other major city during the diamond jubilee.
David More, the chairman of the Montecillo Trust, which wrote
inviting the couple to visit the veterans' rest-home and
hospital, said the residents would be disappointed they were
not coming because of Montecillo's long association with
visiting royalty.
A spokeswoman from Government House said more than 300
invitations and proposals were received.
She said Canterbury and Christchurch had missed out on the
prince's last visit.
The couple planned to spend some private time together
visiting a few of the country's tourist attractions, but
those details would not be released publicly.
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