Prince Charles and Camilla to visit Colombia and Mexico
- Published
The prince and duchess will carry out a "broad range of engagements" during the visit
The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall will make a nine-day visit to Colombia and Mexico later this month.
Clarence House said the visit, from 28 October, will provide a "major boost" to the bilateral relationships between the UK and the two countries.
They will honour victims of Colombia's conflicts and mark the Day of the Dead public holiday in Mexico.
It will be Prince Charles's first visit to Colombia since 1974 and his first to Mexico since 2002.
The Prince's only visit to Colombia was as a naval officer on HMS Minerva. He has visited Mexico four times - in 1966, 1970, 1993, as well as in 2002.
Clarence House said the visit followed a request from the UK Government and invitations from the presidents of the two countries.
"The prince and the duchess are looking forward to seeing the richly varied and beautiful environment of both countries and meeting the warm and welcoming people," it said in a statement.
'Sunset ceremony'
Prince Charles and Camilla will begin their five-day visit to Colombia in the capital Bogota, where they will attend an official welcome at the presidential palace.
They will attend a peace and reconciliation ceremony to remember the victims of Colombia's armed conflicts, before the prince is due to visit the Macarena National Park in southern Colombia.
The couple will end the visit with a sunset ceremony on board HMS Argyll, which will be moored in Cartagena.
Prince Charles's last trip to Mexico in 2002 included a visit to a butterfly sanctuary
In Mexico, the duke and duchess will visit the town of Real del Monte - considered to be the birthplace of the historical relationship between the UK and Mexico, beginning when Cornish miners first arrived from Falmouth in 1825.
The town is twinned with Redruth in Cornwall.
The couple will visit a Cornish cemetery in Real del Monte containing the only known British World War One memorial in Mexico - to a Cornish immigrant who died at the Battle of the Somme.
The prince and duchess are also due to visit Mexico City, Campeche and Monterrey, before leaving Mexico on 5 November.