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Prince George and Princess Charlotte to help Duke and Duchess of Cambridge charm Europe

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George and Princess Charlotte in Canada last year  - Dominic Lipinski/PA
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince George and Princess Charlotte in Canada last year - Dominic Lipinski/PA

Prince George and Princess Charlotte will join their parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, on their tour of Germany and Poland, Kensington Palace has said.

The Duke and Duchess will travel with their young son and daughter during their five-day trip, which begins on July 17 in Poland's capital Warsaw and ends in the German city of Hamburg on July 21.

The tour has been described as a Brexit charm offensive, and follows the Duke and Duchess' trip to Paris and the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall visiting Romania, Italy and Austria earlier this year.

A Kensington Palace spokesman said: "The Duke and Duchess are very much looking forward to this tour and are delighted with the exciting and varied programme that has been put together for it.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte await Trooping the Colour 
Prince George and Princess Charlotte await Trooping the Colour

"They have decided that their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, will travel with them and we expect the children to be seen on at least a couple of occasions over the course of the week.

"They look forward to a busy and impactful tour, and are grateful that they will have the opportunity to meet the Polish and German people - such important friends of the United Kingdom - as a family.

The family in Canada
The family in Canada

The Duke and Duchess have taken their children, George, who is nearly four, and two-year-old Charlotte, on an official tour before, travelling to Canada with them last year where they enjoyed an open-air party for youngsters.

And in 2014 their toddler prince flew with them to New Zealand and Australia for their extensive trip.

This time, the children are likely to be seen only during arrivals and departures at the two countries.

Their parents will undertake a range of engagements including a visit to the Warsaw Rising Museum, the Stutthoff concentration camp and Gdansk Shakespeare Theatre in Poland.

In Germany, they will meet with Angela Merkel, tour the Holocaust Museum, and indulge their famously competitive sides with a head-to-head boat race which will see the Duke take on the Duchess in rival boats representing the twinned towns of Cambridge and Heidelberg.

With Prince George starting school in south London this September, attending the mixed-sex Thomas's Battersea school, and his sister likely to be enrolled in a nursery, this is the last time the royal couple will be able to take their children with them without school commitments making it problematic.

The children will be seen arriving in Poland and Germany, as they were in Canada last year
The children will be seen arriving in Poland and Germany, as they were in Canada last year

The Cambridges are making the trip at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

It is likely to be seen as another Brexit diplomacy tour, helping to maintain and strengthen the UK's relations with Europe as it leaves the EU.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte
Prince George and Princess Charlotte