The prince will attend a national memorial service on March 18 in Christchurch, where more than 150 died in the quake, and will also visit Greymouth, where 29 miners were killed in an explosion in November of last year.
He will then travel to Australia and visit the states of Queensland and Victoria, which were both hit hard by flooding. His fiancée Kate Middleton will not be accompanying him.
"The Prince's visit comes after an invitation from the Prime Ministers of New Zealand and Australia. William will be traveling on behalf of the Queen and the wider royal family," a St. James's Palace spokesperson told the Press Association.
"The royal family have been watching the natural disasters with the same shock and sadness as everyone else,” the spokesperson noted, adding that the royal family want “to show their solidarity with the people of New Zealand and Australia,” reported the news agency.
Prince William last traveled to New Zealand and Australia just over a year ago in January 2010—his first visit to Australia.
"This is a heart-warming gesture that will mean a lot to the thousands of people whose lives have been forever changed by these events," said New Zealand's Prime Minister John Key, according to The Dominion Post newspaper.
"I would like to personally thank The Queen for thinking of New Zealand in its darkest hours and very much look forward to seeing Prince William again, even though it is in very sad circumstances."
