Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, will visit Israel, Jordan and Palestinian Authority territories this summer, Kensington Palace announced on Twitter today, March 1.
“The visit is at the request of Her Majesty’s Government and has been welcomed by the Israeli, Jordanian and Palestinian authorities,” the palace tweeted.
This would be the first official state visit to Israel by a member of the British royalty, though three trips have been made in an unofficial capacity.
William’s grandfather, Prince Philip, flew to Israel in October 1994 for a Yad Vashem ceremony commemorating the heroic wartime actions of his mother, Alice of Battenberg, who is buried on Jerusalem’s Mount of Olives.
William’s father, Prince Charles, came to Israel in November 1995 for the funeral of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and in September 2016 for the funeral of former President Shimon Peres.
A planned 2017 state visit by a member of the royal family, rumored to have been Prince Charles, was canceled.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin posted tweeted in response to the news of Prince William’s impending visit. “Nechama & I were happy to hear [the] Kensington Royal announcement, and look forward to welcoming Prince William, the Duke of Cambridge, on an official visit to the State of Israel later this year. A very special guest, and a very special present for our 70th year of independence.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Prince William “will be received here with great affection” and that he has instructed the Foreign Ministry’s director-general to coordinate all the preparations for what he called an historic visit.
William and his wife, Kate Middleton, are expecting their third child in April.