Prince Harry and Meghan Markle aren’t the only ones hitting the (airplane) runway this fall. On Saturday it was announced that Prince William and Kate Middleton would be travelling abroad to Pakistan around the same time.
“The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will undertake an official visit to Pakistan at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office,” read a statement from the palace on Instagram. “The visit will take place in the Autumn.”
It will be the first official visit by a member of the British royal family since Prince Charles and Camilla travelled there in 2006. The Queen visited in 1961 and 1997, while Princess Diana also travelled there in 1991.
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Royal tours are less of a holiday and more of a work trip, according to Town & Country. Customarily the royals attend around four engagements a day. These are based on what causes the host government wants to promote, in addition to the royal couple’s personal interests.
The news of William and Kate’s trip to Pakistan comes days after an announcement that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be travelling to South Africa in the autumn, with Harry also making stops in Malawi and Angola. The couple’s Instagram account mentioned that it would be the couple’s “first official tour as a family,” hinting that baby Archie will be coming along.
“The Duke and Duchess are really looking forward to meeting so many of you on the ground and continuing to raise awareness of the high impact work local communities are doing across the Commonwealth and beyond,” their official announcement read on the family’s joint Instagram.
The palace did not clarify whether or not Prince George, Princess Charlotte, or Prince Louis will be joining William and Kate on the trip.