Buckingham Palace Announces an Unexpected Royal Couple Will Be Heading to Africa on a Major Tour
Two family members will visit Botswana on behalf of King Charles this October.
Royal fans have been anxiously awaiting official confirmation of Prince William and Princess Kate’s anticipated visit to India for the 2026 Earthshot Prize, but instead, Buckingham Palace announced a surprise royal tour on September 24 for the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, is one of Queen Elizabeth’s first cousins and serves as a full-time working royal alongside his wife, Birgitte. The couple will be traveling to Botswana between October 5 and 8 in honor of the 60th anniversary of the country's independence.
This is the first time a member of the Royal Family has traveled to Botswana since 2022, when the Duchess of Edinburgh paid an official visit. The country is also close to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s hearts, as they spent their third date in Botswana and Harry frequently travels there privately.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are pictured at Royal Ascot 2026.
Prince Harry helps local schoolchildren plant trees at the Chobe Tree Reserve in Botswana in 2019.
According to Buckingham Palace, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester will celebrate the modern partnership between the United Kingdom and Botswana with a variety of engagements that highlight the ties between the two countries.
They’ll also meet with His Excellency President Advocate Duma Boko during the trip, which will mark the couple’s first time in Botswana.
During the country's last major jubilee celebration in 2016, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the former Duke of York, visited Botswana on behalf of Queen Elizabeth, and in 2019, Prince Harry traveled to the country with his former charity, Sentebale. Although Queen Elizabeth traveled to Botswana with her parents when she was still a princess, she toured the African country on an official state visit just once as monarch, in 1979.
