Expats in New Zealand with a soft spot for the Royal Family will welcome the news that Prince Charles will be visiting the country as part of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations in 2012.

Prince Charles last visited New Zealand in 2005 but it will be his wife the Duchess of Cornwall’s first visit there. The couple’s tour, on behalf of the Queen, will include Australia, Papua New Guinea and Canada.

Controversy surrounded the last time a British royal visited New Zealand, when the Queen’s granddaughter, Zara Phillips, flew out to be with her England rugby player husband Mike Tindall, who had been caught on camera fraternising with a female friend in a bar in Queenstown during the Rugby World Cup.

For details of property for sale in New Zealand, visit the listings on Rightmove Overseas.

Preparation for anyone considering a move to New Zealand should include planning for the transfer of your pounds into New Zealand dollars. For information on how to do this safely and save money when doing so, speak to currency exchange specialist Smart Currency Exchange.

To understand the full step-by-step process to buying a property in New Zealand, collect The Overseas Guides Company’s ‘New Zealand Property Buying Guide’