Prince Harry will be coming to Nepal on an official visit this spring, Kensington Palace has confirmed. 

“The visit is being undertaken at the request of Her Majesty’s Government and will be the first time Prince Harry has visited the country,” Kensington Palace announced on its official twitter account on Friday. 

The visit will see him follow in the footsteps of his father Prince Charles and his grandparents the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh, who have all carried out official visits to the region.

The last visit to Nepal was carried out by Prince Philip in 2000, and Prince Harry’s trip will be the first official tour of Nepal since the country became a republic in 2008.

Confirmation of Harry’s official tour coincided with the announcement that his brother and sister-in-law—the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge—would visit Bhutan following on from their official tour of India.

While full details of Harry’s trip are yet to be confirmed, a section of the British media  said the 31-year-old—fifth in line to the British throne—will see how Nepal’s rebuilding effort is progressing since the devastating earthquakes in April and May last year. 

He is said to have long wanted to visit Nepal largely due to his admiration and respect for the Gurkha troops he served with in Afghanistan. 

The Gurkhas worked on a range of humanitarian projects in Nepal, after the earthquake struck, on behalf of the charitable Gurkha Welfare Trust, which looks after the interests of Gurkha pensioners in the country.