The Duke of Sussex’s looming trip Down Under has hit a big road bump, but it won’t change anything, writes Rebecca Russell.

Prince Harry will soon be making a keynote speech. (Image: Getty)

Would you believe it? There is apparently a limit to how much money people will pay to be lectured on the ins and outs of “workplace wellness” by a man who hasn’t held a 9-to-5 job in his entire life. Who’d have thought?

We’ve just heard that in a desperate attempt to sell tickets to Prince Harry’s upcoming keynote speech in Melbourne, organisers at the InterEdge Summit have been forced to slash the most basic entry-level prices from an eyewatering $1,978 to $997.

While the Duke is set to speak about workplace mental health – a noble and worthy cause – a world where, just six years on from his bombshell decision to leave the Royal Family, he is already seeing ticket prices for his event drop by 50% must be galling.

Prince Harry’s appearance has hit a road bump. (Image: Getty)

Back when the golden halo of their wedding still hung heavy around their heads, he and Meghan swept through Australia like rock stars embarking on a world tour. They had just announced they were expecting their first baby and were mobbed by thousands upon thousands of adoring fans in every direction they turned. Oh, how the tables have turned.

Back in 2020, the world was curious about this couple. We wanted to know what happened behind the palace gates; we wanted the behind-the-scenes details and to hear where the source of their venom had come from. We sat on the edge of our seats for the Netflix documentary; we bought the memoir. But the problem with being curious, of course, is that it runs out just as quickly as it is piqued.

Once the vitriol has been spouted and the grievances laid bare (several times, and in every single medium possible…), you’re left with the person who is actually speaking, and it doesn’t matter if that person is a prince or a pauper; if they have nothing of substance to say, they’re exposed.

And, of course, the irony of the whole situation is reaching Shakespearean levels now, as the notion of Harry speaking at a ‘Psychosocial Safety Summit’ as someone who has spent the last six years on a scorched-earth campaign against his own family is quite the choice.

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Meghan, too, is hosting an event of her own during their time Down Under and has been dogged by scandal after scandal. Not least of all, the fact that one of her handpicked guests turns out to be one of the most active members of the ‘Sussex Squad’, who disgustingly branded the Princess of Wales’ life-changing cancer diagnosis “fake”.

It seems the couple could be in for a brutal lesson: their value will be determined more and more by demand to see them, and there just doesn’t seem to be that appetite at the moment. Will it come back? Only time will tell.