Prince William and Catherine have cancelled a trip Down Under to avoid accusations of meddling in New Zealand's election.
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were to visit New Zealand for the Rugby World Cup in October and planned to include Australia in their itinerary.
But with the Kiwis' general election set down for November 26, NZ Prime Minister John Key faced criticism that he would exploit the royal visit for political gain.
The election date has been known since February.
According to a report in London quoting a royal source, the trip has been canned, meaning Australians would have to wait for their first glimpse of the couple."You can't really go to Australia without going to New Zealand so it's all been put on hold," the insider said.
As a rule, the royal family avoids visiting Commonwealth countries during elections so as not to be seen to be favouring the political party in government.
Mr Key, who leads the conservative National Party, met the couple during their wedding celebrations and had raved about Kate's desire to make the journey south.
The royal couple, who set off for Canada and the US on Thursday for what will now be their only overseas tour for the year, may reschedule their antipodean tour to coincide with the Queen's Diamond Jubilee next year.
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