Prince William is to visit New Zealand and Australia to tour areas devastated by recent natural disasters, St James’s Palace has announced.
Representing the Queen, William will travel without his fiancée, Kate Middleton, making his first stop in Christchurch, New Zealand, which is recovering from the recent earthquake that killed more than 160 people.
He will also visit the town of Greymouth, where 29 people died in an explosion at the Pike River Mine last November.
The Prince will then travel to Australia where he will visit Queensland and Victoria, which have both been recently hit by devastating flooding.
A St James’s Palace spokesman said: “The Prince’s visit comes after an invitation from the Prime Ministers of New Zealand and Australia.
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“William will be travelling on behalf of the Queen and the wider royal family.”
He added: “The royal family have been watching the natural disasters with the same shock and sadness as everyone else.
“They wanted to show their solidarity with the people of New Zealand and Australia, and the decision was taken with the Prime Ministers’ offices and the royal household that Prince William should attend and visit the countries.”
The unexpected tour of the southern hemisphere countries, which will begin next week, is only the second time the Prince has represented the Queen abroad.
He will spend two days from Thursday March 17 in Christchurch, undertaking engagements in the area and attending a National Memorial Service on the second day.
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He will arrive in Australia on Saturday March 19, where he will, over two days, visit a number of areas and towns affected by the recent cyclone and flooding in Queensland.
On March 21, the Prince will visit northwest Victoria to view the area recently affected by flooding.
Precise details of the royal’s itinerary will be made known in due course by the Prime Minister’s Office of New Zealand, and the Prime Minister’s Office of Australia.
Prince William last visited New Zealand in January 2010, when he paid a visit on behalf of the Queen to Auckland and the capital Wellington, where he officially opened the country’s Supreme Court building.
In the same month he also visited Australia, making private trips to Sydney, New South Wales and Melbourne, Victoria.
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The Royal Family have already paid their respects to the victims of the most recent disaster - the New Zealand earthquake.
Senior members of the monarchy and William and Miss Middleton have all signed a book of condolence at the country’s High Commission in London. It was not felt appropriate that Miss Middleton accompany Prince William on the visits.
At least seven Britons are currently feared dead after the 6.3 magnitude earthquake shook the South Island city of Christchurch on February 22.
Authorities have so far formally identified three UK nationals killed in the disaster but another four may also have died.
The death toll from the quake currently stands at more than 160.
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On November 19, last year, 29 miners became trapped by a gas explosion at the Pike River Coal Mine in Atarau, also on the South Island.
The workers, including two Britons, died after a second blast ripped through the pit.
In neighbouring Australia torrential rains drenched the state of Queensland from November last year, forcing rivers to burst their banks.
The waters inundated an area larger than France and Germany combined and the State capital of Brisbane, Australia’s third-largest city with a population of two million, was badly affected.