The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge are to make an official visit to Poland and Germany, Kensington Palace has announced.

William and Kate will tour the two European countries in July this year at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The royal couple are already planning to visit the continent with a two-day trip to Paris scheduled for later this month.

William travelled to Germany last summer, visiting Dusseldorf for a series of events honouring the role of British armed forces based in the country.

During a gala event, where the Duke gave a speech alongside Chancellor Angela Merkel, William claimed the "depth" of Britain's friendship with Germany would not change after Brexit.

The British monarchy has close ties with the European country, as a succession of sovereigns from George I, born in what is now modern Germany and who acceded to the throne in 1714, to William IV, who died in 1830, were also rulers of Hanover in Germany.

The 300th anniversary of what is known as the "personal union" was celebrated in 2014, and the year before the milestone, princesses Beatrice and Eugenie visited Germany to highlight the event.

During a state visit to Germany in 2015, the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visited the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp to mark the 70th anniversary of its liberation by British forces.

Kate has yet to make an official trip to Germany and the Cambridges have not toured Poland before on behalf of the Government.

Kensington Palace said full details of the visit would be released at a later date.

It is not thought William and Kate will be taking their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte with them to Germany and Poland.

A Foreign and Commonwealth Office spokesman said: "Royal visits play a very important role in the United Kingdom's bilateral diplomacy. The Royal Family are excellent and experienced ambassadors for the United Kingdom.

"Whilst every royal visit is unique, each visit is designed to support foreign policy objectives and promote closer ties across a range of areas, for example cultural, economic or political, between the UK and the host country."