Britain's Prince Charles to tour India

Britain's Prince Charles will tour India for nine days next month ahead of the Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, his office said Tuesday. It will be the heir to the throne's eighth official visit to the Commonwealth's most populous country and his third with his second wife Camilla. The trip, from November 6 to 14, will take them to Dehradun, New Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Kochi, during which they will meet political, business and cultural leaders in their most extensive India tour to date. "They will undertake a broad range of engagements to promote the strong UK-India partnership in key areas such as conservation, education, growing business links, women's empowerment and training," the couple's Clarence House residence said. "They will also have the opportunity to celebrate religious diversity, creativity and the vibrant individual family ties between the two countries." Charles, 64, will make an off-road trip into an "elephant corridor" in Kerala, while Camilla will visit the Doon School in Dehradun. They will both visit the Indian Military Academy and attend a Bollywood-themed gala dinner in Mumbai. Their last India visit was in 2010 when Charles opened the Commonwealth Games in Delhi alongside then-president Pratibha Patil. After touring India, the prince is due to represent his mother Queen Elizabeth II, the head of the Commonwealth, at the 53-member organisation's heads of government meeting in Colombo. The 87-year-old queen has only missed the biennial summit once before, when it was first held in 1971. Her decision to stay away this year is part of a gradual move to cut down her long-distance foreign trips and hand over some of her duties to younger members of the royal family. Charles and Camilla will be in Sri Lanka from November 14 to 16. Besides attending the summit, which runs from November 15 to 17, the couple will visit a mental health project, a hospital and a tea estate.