Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s recent visit to Australia may have been a commercial success – but it may also have created difficulties for any potential reunion with the royal family

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Harry and Meghan’s tour of Australia had all the hallmarks of an official royal tour, according to a leading royal author(Image: Getty Images)

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s high-profile “quasi-royal tour” of Australia could lead to some tense talks with their estranged family if a proposed royal get-together is to take place this summer. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan wrapped up their whirlwind visit on 17 April after making headlines around the world with emotional speeches, TV appearances – including Meghan’s guest spot on MasterChef Australia – and some potentially lucrative business engagements.

Prior to them landing down under, it was reported that Harry, 41, is desperate for his father, King Charles, to invite him and his family to Sandringham this summer, when he will be in the UK for a “one-year-to-go” event ahead of next year’s Invictus Games. If a meeting did take place, it would be the first time the Sussex children – Archie, six, and four-year-old Lilibet – have seen their grandfather in nearly four years, while Meghan, 44, hasn’t been seen in public here since Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022.

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Harry and Meghan were greeted by well-wishers at Sydney’s Man O’War Steps during their four-day trip Down Under(Image: Getty Images)

While the couple’s Australian trip likely “raised concerns” at the palace, royal expert Richard Palmer believes an in-person reunion might be the only solution if the King ever wants to have a relationship with Harry and his estranged grandchildren.

“Spending a few days together at Sandringham or another royal residence could enable some sort of showdown that clears the air,” Richard says. “Many in the outside world think they all need to move on and that even though it’ll never be the same again, they could have some sort of a more normal relationship. The King finds it incredibly painful that he can’t see his grandchildren, but is very cautious about re- engaging.”

An amicable royal reunion would no doubt thrill those fans who were left devastated after Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals and moved to the US six years ago. For a proposed meet-up to be a success, Richard says it’s crucial that it is managed carefully.

“I think people around [King Charles] believe there needs to be some sort of accommodation reached and perhaps the way of getting that is by allowing them all to get together away from the cameras, have them all say the things that need to be said, and to spend some quality time together and start being a family again,” he explains.

Despite his reported eagerness to be accepted back into the fold, while in Australia Harry risked ruffling feathers back home by admitting he’d been reluctant to embrace his royal role after the death of his mother Princess Diana.

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Harry delivered a speech at the Invictus Australia Reception at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra(Image: Getty Images)

“I was like, ‘I don’t want this job,’” he said during an emotional speech in Melbourne. “I don’t want this role. Wherever this is headed, I don’t like it. It killed my mum, and I was very much against it, and I stuck my head in the sand for years, fingers in the eyes.”

He also talked of needing to “cleanse himself of the past” to become the best father to Prince Archie, who turns seven on 6 May, and Princess Lilibet, and revealed how he’d once felt “lost, betrayed or completely powerless”. Having to put on a brave face in public only piled extra pressure on his young shoulders, he added.

As hard-hitting as his words were, Richard says it’s not what the prince said that might jeopardise a potential summer meet-up with the King, it’s the fact that Harry and Meghan have “essentially got what they wanted, which is to be half in, half out of royal life”.

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Meghan Markle is set to feature on MasterChef Australia

The royal author claims, “What Harry said about his childhood and the past didn’t come close to what was said in the Netflix series and in his autobiography Spare . But that isn’t where the problem lies.

“The monarchy is all about public service, not private gain, and non-working royals who are as high-profile as Harry and Meghan appearing to cash in on their royal status attracts uncomfortable attention for the palace.

“The Sussexes aren’t funded by the taxpayer or officially representing the UK, but they were doing similar things to the royals on their quasi-royal tour, and appear to be earning money from doing it. This is what has raised concerns with the palace.”

Meghan and Harry aren’t the first non-working royals to face accusations of “cashing in”.

In 2020, Princess Anne’s son Peter Phillips sparked controversy by starring in a television advert for a state-owned Chinese dairy brand. The advertisement for Jersey Milk was set in a stately home and included a replica royal carriage; it also described him as “British Royal Family member, Peter Phillips”.

Richard claims the Sussexes’ Australian tour is “the starkest example of them cashing in on their royal status” yet, adding that – whatever their critics might say – it’s working for them. However, it also presents a serious dilemma for the core working royals.

“It raises the question, again, about whether King Charles, or Prince William when he becomes King, makes it clearer who are working members of the family and who aren’t, and one way to do that is to remove their titles completely,” says Richard.

There’s also the problem of lingering “trust issues” between Harry and Meghan and various members of the royal family, particularly Prince William.

Richard alleges, “One of the big risks if they come over to Sandringham and stay with the King and Queen Camilla is that it’s a very high-profile trip, and if Meghan’s selling replicas of her clothing and Harry’s making money doing speeches, then the King is looking like he’s helping them to make money. That is a big risk for the monarchy.”

Only time will tell if it’s a risk that the monarchy is willing to take.