Prince Christian follows in father and grandmother's footsteps as his plans for an extended overseas visit are revealed

The Danish royal household has announced Prince Christian will undertake a three-month stint overseas.

The 18-year-old will head to East Africa next week on a private visit, where he will undertake "practical and administrative tasks" on two farms to give the future king "an insight into local nature protection".

The heir to the throne, who graduated from high school in July, is expected to return to Denmark sometime in December.

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This means the prince will mark his 19th birthday in Africa on October 15 and the affair will be in stark contrast to his extravagant 18th birthday, which marked his coming of age.

While it's not known if his mum, Australian-born Queen Mary, took a "gap year", he's not the first in his family to take some extended time overseas.

Both his father, King Frederik, and grandmother, Queen Margrethe, undertook similar experiences before their reigns.

"In the royal family there is a long tradition that the heirs to the throne, in their youth, go on long-term stays abroad and gets the opportunity to develop and experience the world," the Danish royal household said in a statement.

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In 1986, Frederik participated in an expedition to Mongolia with a focus on the nomads. Then, in 1989, he worked for a year on a wine farm in California.

Queen Margrethe travelled to the East and South America in the 1960s.

Even his older cousin, Count Nikolai, has just returned back to Copenhagen after a gap year in Australia.

Prince Christian will have an ice-breaker next time he meets Prince William, who also visited parts of Africa during his gap year.

The future Danish king became heir-apparent in January after his grandmother shocked the nation with the announcement of her abdication.

Queen Margrethe made the announcement in her New Year's address, with the change coming into effect exactly two weeks later in a low key ceremony to mark the succession.

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