King Charles III’s favourite countries based on his number of royal visits
The life of any royal is one filled with state visits, whether receiving politicians and other royals in the UK or travelling across the world for various engagements.
Ahead of his coronation in May, King Charles III visited Germany last month on an extensive trip, beginning in Berlin and finishing in Hamburg.
His mother, the late Queen Elizabeth II, was the world’s most-travelled monarch, having made almost 300 trips abroad during her reign.
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Charles himself has made more than 100 different trips abroad, including to 45 of the 56 Commonwealth countries. His next foreign engagement will likely be in France, where a planned trip was recently cancelled due to unrest in the country.
The Independent has looked at his numerous state visits and taken a tally to see which nations are his “favourites” to visit.
Germany
According to Reuters, King Charles has visited Germany on more than 40 occasions, with 28 official visits.
His latest visit was his first as King and focused on repairing relations between the two countries after the UK left the European Union.
France
The new King has previously visited France 35 times, with his most recent planned visit cancelled due to protests over the pension age in France.
This trip will likely be re-arranged in the near future, with the added aim of strengthening ties between the long-term allies.
USA
While his mother only visited the US five times, Charles has been on more than 20 official tours of the country.
The royals are largely viewed positively in the States and have garnered much attention since the weddings of both Prince William and Kate Middleton and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
The King himself has met 10 sitting Presidents and will inevitably look to maintain positive relations within the context of events in Europe and further afield.
Italy
Perhaps surprisingly, Italy is one of the King’s most visited destinations, with the monarch completing 18 official visits to the Mediterranean country.
The Vatican also features a few times in his official visits, with both himself and Camilla meeting the Pope in 2017.
Canada
Having joined the Commonwealth as an independent state in 1931, Canada has a long history intertwined with that of the UK.
Relations between the two countries are positive, and His Royal Highness has visited the North American country 18 times.
The King most recently visited in 2017 to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Confederation.
Australia and New Zealand
Unsurprisingly, the King has visited the Commonwealth nations of Australia and New Zealand numerous times and even went to school for two terms in Victoria.
Perhaps his most famous visit to Australia was in Sydney in 1994, when a protestor jumped on stage and fired blanks at the then-Prince. The frequency of his trips Down Under has declined since then, although he has visited as recently as 2019.
As for New Zealand, the two destinations were often combined in royal visits in the past. However, the King has only been to New Zealand nine times, far fewer than the number of visits to its Oceanic neighbour.
India
India joined the Commonwealth in 1947; Charles has visited 10 times and met President Ram Nath Kovind in 2019.
Netherlands
King Charles has visited the Netherlands on nine occasions, most recently with Princess Beatrix to attend the 75th anniversary of Operation Market Garden, an allied operation during the Second World War.
Other countries in Europe
The King has visited the majority of countries in continental Europe since his first visit in 1954.
His most-visited is Romania, having been there nine times. Next up is Switzerland and Spain with eight visits apiece. Ireland, Norway and Belgium have all received the King on seven trips, while he has been to Turkey six times and Hungary four times.
He has visited Portugal, Croatia and Greece three times. Russia, Austria, Monaco, Latvia, Poland, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, former Yugoslavia, Kosovo, Denmark and former Czechoslovakia have welcomed him twice, while he has visited Macedonia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Estonia, Lithuania, Serbia, Ukraine, Sweden and Montenegro just once.
Asia
Charles has been to Hong Kong five times, Brunei and Japan four times, Nepal three times and Singapore, Sri Lanka and Indonesia twice. He has made trips to several Asian countries just once, including Thailand, South Korea, the Philippines, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan.
South and Central America
The new King has visited Brazil and Mexico four times each and Venezuela three times. He’s been to Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Guyana, Ecuador and Uruguay once each.
Middle East
Charles has been to Saudi Arabia 11 times. The UAE, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait are the King’s other “favourite” destinations in the Middle East, having been to each six times. He’s also been to Oman (five times), Jordan and Israel (three times) and Afghanistan, Iran and Iraq (once each).
Other Commonwealth Territories
The King’s first state visit was to Malta, and he has since been to the small European country six times. Other territories he has visited include Kenya, Fiji and Jamaica four times, Barbados and Papau New Guinea three times and Zimbabwe twice.
Africa
Charles has travelled extensively in Africa, including to several of the Commonwealth nations.
He’s visited Uganda, Lesotho, Ivory Coast, Libya, Zambia, Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi and Cameroon once, South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania twice, Morocco thrice and Egypt four times.
Caribbean
Over the years the King has also visited several countries and islands in the Caribbean. He’s been welcomed to Montserrat, the Gillbert and Ellis islands, Bermuda, Barbados, Saint Kitts and the Bahamas once each, while visiting both Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago three times.
