King Charles is about to pay an emotional visit to Kenya, where his mother became queen

King Charles is planning an emotional visit to Kenya later this year, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

In an apparent drive to put the Commonwealth at the heart of his government, he is expected to head to East Africa before even rescheduling a visit to France that was halted in March over security fears.

The trip is sure to bring back memories of his mother, as she became queen there, aged 25, upon the death of her father, King George VI, in February 1952.

An insider said: “It will be a poignant moment. It will inevitably be a reminder of his young mother at the beginning of her reign. Now he is at the beginning of his career, but he also has the advantage of experience.

“It will also be an important milestone for his administration that will underline how important the Commonwealth is to him.

“His Majesty wants to bring people together. He knows that the relationship between the Royal Family and the wealthy and other Commonwealth nations will change, but is keen to preserve and protect common values.”

His administration’s first official visit was halted by the French government amid widespread rioting in response to Emmanuel Macron’s plans to raise the retirement age.

In the end, the King and Queen Camilla were only able to complete the second leg of their itinerary, which was a trip to Germany.

Assistants are now investigating the logistics for the king to follow in his late mother’s footsteps.

A source said: “Plans are being made for the king to go to Kenya later this year. He wants to visit the Commonwealth.”

The East African nation holds a unique place in royal history as the then Princess Elizabeth made an official visit there with Prince Philip upon learning that her father had died in the early hours of February 6, 1952 and that she had taken the throne mounted.

The royal couple had landed in Nairobi less than a week earlier to embark on a world tour on behalf of the ailing king. Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip have visited the Sagana Lodge, a bungalow given as a wedding present by the Kenyan government.

Then they went to the Treetops hotel in Aberdare National Park. The late monarch entered a treehouse as a princess among the branches of a giant mgumu fig tree and came down as a queen.

The hotel was later destroyed by the Mau Mau and rebuilt. The area holds memories of the king, who visited Kenya four times.

Nearby is the Prince Charles Campsite, a forest clearing where Charles grew his first beard on a safari while visiting his sister, Princess Anne. Other trips followed in 1977, 1978 and 1987.

However, the first visit to a Commonwealth country as king will be an important step in his reign.

Although not one of the 15 empires that recognize him as head of state, it is nevertheless an influential member. A source said strengthening ties between the “family of countries” supported by his late mother will be one of his government’s main concerns.

Last June, he represented the Queen at the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting in Rwanda. He told them, ‘We meet and talk as equals. The constitutional arrangement of each member as a republic or monarchy is purely a matter for each member state to decide.’

Next year he will attend the meeting of Commonwealth Heads of Government in Samoa and visit Australia and New Zealand.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment on future foreign visits.