King Charles makes surprise reference to Australia after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s trip announcement

King Charles, 77, visited Tate Britain’s Turner and Constable exhibition in London on Tuesday, marking 250 years since the artists’ birth

he King referred to Australia during an after-hours guided tour to one of the UK’s leading art galleries, shortly after it was revealed his son Prince Harry is planning a visit there.

Charles, 77, was “very keen” to see the Tate’s Turner and Constable: Rivals and Originals exhibition in London, which marks 250 years since artists JMW Turner and John Constable were born, exploring their rivalries and legacies.

The King viewed nearly 200 artworks on Tuesday, including rare loans from private and public collections around the world, leading Charles to ask “how many others” might be hidden away “in Australia or something”.

It drew a laugh from exhibition curator, Amy Concannon, who told the King the painting had been in Tasmania until it was recently discovered. The King was marvelling at Turner’s The Rising Squall, Hot Wells, from St Vincent’s Rock, Bristol, an oil painting of the River Avon on a stormy day from 1772, which had been considered lost for many years.

Charles seemed particularly fascinated by the painting, exclaiming “wow” as he first approached and then adding “That really is marvellous”.

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King Charles III visits Tate Britain to view the Turner & Constable: Rivals and Originals exhibition

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Australia visit

Prince Harry and Meghan are set to go Down Under in April, almost seven years after their tour to Australia and the South Pacific as working royals, it was announced this week. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will land in Sydney and Melbourne in mid-April, with a couple of ventures already announced.

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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are set to visit Australia

Meghan will be a speaker at the exclusive Her Best Life retreat, organised by radio star Jackie “O” Henderson’s event company, which will run from April 17-19. Meghan will also appear as a guest star on the Besties company podcast of the same name.

Harry, meanwhile, will be a keynote speaker at the InterEdge Summit, discussing workplace mental health. On the website, it reads: “Prince Harry has dedicated his life to service and uplifting communities, while emphasising the importance of our collective mental health in his philanthropic and advocacy work globally.”

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Sydney Opera House in 2018

A spokesperson for the couple said: “Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, will visit Australia in mid-April to take part in a number of private, business, and philanthropic engagements. Further details will be shared in due course.”

The King last saw his youngest son in September, meeting up for less than an hour over tea at Buckingham Palace during Harry’s visit to the UK.

King’s love of painting

Charles is known to paint whenever his schedule allows and usually takes his treasured sailcloth and leather painting bag with him on royal tours in the hope he will have time to do so.

His interest – fostered by his art master at Gordonstoun school, Robert Waddell – grew in the 1970s and 1980s as he was able to meet leading artists.

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Charles and Prince Harry are pictured in 2019

The King has previously described how he finds painting so relaxing that it “transports me into another dimension”. He discussed watercolour technique with the late Edward Seago and received further tuition from professionals such as Derek Hill, John Ward and Bryan Organ.

At the Tate, the King listened with interest as Ms Concannon explained the intricacies of the relationship between the two men. The curator explained that Turner, born in 1775, and Constable, born in 1776, were “pitted against each other” as landscape artists, taking the form in different directions.