The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are jetting off Down Under next month on another faux-royal tour. But it’s led to some big questions being asked about the couple…

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Harry and Meghan are heading off to Australia in mid-April(Image: PA)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle raised eyebrows when they announced they are embarking on another pseudo-royal tour. The couple – who visited Jordan in February – are set to jet off to Australia for the first time since 2018.

In mid-April, Meghan and Harry will head Down Under to “take part in a number of private, business, and philanthropic engagements,” a spokesperson for the Sussexes said. “Further details will be shared in due course.” Their children, Archie and Lilibet, are not expected to be joining them.

But it’s already proving to be a bumpy ride. Their last visit, when Meghan was pregnant with her first child, saw thousands of well-wishers flock to greet the newly-crowned pair as the Commonwealth nation was hit by royal fever. This time though, the message from our Antipodean cousins has been anything but welcoming. Pitched against a backdrop of increasing calls for independence from the Sovereign, the duo have been warned that the red carpet will not be rolled out.

Tom Sykes, a royal journalist, wrote on his The Royalist substack: “The Sussexes are likely to be lightning rods in Australia’s ongoing debate about the royal family and the country’s constitutional future. For now, one thing seems certain: Harry and Meghan will need thick skins when they arrive in a country where they are no longer assured of a warm welcome.”

Indeed, unlike their previous royal tour, there will be no police escorts or thronging crowds outside Sydney Opera House. Instead, it will be two famous people promoting their good causes and making some cash along the way.

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Harry and Meghan on the stairs of Sydney’s iconic Opera House in October 2018(Image: AFP via Getty Images)

“The 2018 tour was a proper full-on royal tour,” royal expert Duncan Larcombe, the author of ‘Prince Harry: The Inside Story, tells the Mirror. “It was the first chance for a lot of people that followed this sort of thing to see them since their wedding. And they were big, big hitters within the Royal Family at that time.

“This tour’s slightly different. I mean, it’s…questionable as to why on earth is it even happening going ahead in the first place. I think Australia has its fair share of Republicans, which is fair enough, but even some of the die-hard Royalists are very angry with Harry and Meghan for the way they’ve behaved, the way they’ve sold out to the highest bidder, and the criticisms they’ve levelled at other members of the Royal Family. So actually it’s quite unpredictable to see how they’ll be received. I’m sure the people that they actually physically meet will be sycophantic and the usual gushing kind of stuff you get. But I think there’ll be an awful lot of people in Australia saying ‘Well why are we paying for this? Why is this happening? Who do they think they are?’”

In response, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex told the Mirror: “Mr Larcombe should know better than to source his information from ‘X’. Australians are not paying for this trip. It is being privately funded.”

Before they even touch down in Australia, Harry and Meghan have been hit with some major setbacks regarding the rumours swirling about who will be paying for the visit. A petition has been launched demanding that the couple pay for themselves on their quasi-royal visit. Advocacy group Beyond Australia has urged the government not to use taxpayer funds for the Sussexes’s security, logistics and other requirements. To date, it has amassed 34,820 signatures.

The group spearheading the campaign said: “The activities are private and commercial and must be treated strictly as a private visit. At a time when Australians are facing significant cost-of-living pressures, including rising grocery bills, fuel prices, mortgage stress driven by interest rate hikes, and increasing energy costs, public resources must be used responsibly and applied fairly without special treatment for high-profile individuals.”

In response, the Sussexes’ spokesperson issued a blunt statement to the Mirror, saying: “It’s a moot point. The trip is being funded privately, so I’m not sure what this petition hopes to achieve… Of course, if you wanted to dive into the ridiculousness of this petition as an agenda for spreading misinformation, then one could equally hypothesise that there are approximately 26.5 million Australians (99.98% of the population) who haven’t signed it, who must therefore agree with the tax-payer picking up the tab for their visit. Of course, that is another stupid assertion to make but hey, why let common sense get in the way of a good story…”

Harry and Meghan will partake in two major events during their time in Australia, hosted in Melbourne and Sydney. From April 15 to April 16, Harry will join the InterEdge Summit in Melbourne as a keynote speaker. The inaugural conference discusses Australia’s mental health crisis in the workplace, advocating for strategies that create healthy and supportive environments.

Meghan, meanwhile, will be a headline guest speaker at a women’s retreat in Australia for the podcast, ‘Her Best Life’, which the organisers have described as “a girls’ weekend like no other”. The event, led by Gemma O’Neill, is being held in Sydney from April 17 to April 19 and fans can pay to have their picture with the duchess. But this, too, has been hit with issues.

The event, which has sold out, is being held at the Intercontinental Hotel, overlooking Sydney’s Coogee beach. But it has been revealed that the new infinity pool overlooking the Tasman Sea is still under construction, while the spa, bar and ‘leisure deck’ are also due to be completed next month.

One guest who stayed at the hotel last week called the refurbishment of the pool ‘a work in progress’ and a ‘blot on the view’, via the Daily Mail.

Worse still are the so-called ‘poop balls’ that have been blighting the beach below for more than two years. Since 2024, foul-smelling balls made up of a mixture of chemicals, soap scum, cooking oil, hair and human excrement have been washing up – certainly not ideal for guests looking to relax by the sea.

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Meghan will be hosted by Gemma O’Neill at the retreat(Image: Her Best Life/Spotify)

At the event, Meghan and Gemma will discuss, “life, parenting, relationships, building a global business and navigating a public persona”, while invitees will attend discussions, wellness sessions, and social gatherings designed to bring women together for what the organisers describe as “powerful conversations, relaxation, laughter, and unforgettable experiences”.

Early bird tickets to the event are set at AU$2,699 (£1,440), to include accommodation at a beach-side Sydney hotel and access to three days of events, including a gala dinner, yoga and meditation sessions, and a disco celebration.

But those wanting to get even closer to Meghan can purchase the VIP experience tickets, which are being sold for £1,705 per person. This ticket also includes guaranteed seating at a table in front two rows for the gala dinner with Meghan, as well as a group table photo with the Duchess.

Meghan has long been accused of cashing in on her royal status, something the late Queen expressly forbade when the Sussexes’ requested a half-in-half-out royal status. She prevented the couple from using their HRH titles and “Sussex Royal” brand commercially, with the aim of preventing the monetisation of their royal connections since they are no longer working members.

Meanwhile, Australia has always been a key Commonwealth location for working royals, with tours dished out to only the most deserving. But Kate and King Charles’ cancer diagnoses mean visits have been sparse. The King and Queen Camilla made the trip Down Under in 2024, but the Prince and Princess of Wales have not graced its shores for 12 years.

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The couple received a warm welcome back in 2018 – but what kind of reception will they receive this time around?(Image: AFP/Getty Images)

Plans are said to have been underfoot for the couple to visit later this year, but have now been pipped to the post by their estranged in-laws.

“Back in September, the Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese had tea with the King at Balmoral and publicly invited the Prince and Princess of Wales to tour the country. There have been rumours of a visit in July or August but it’s not looking likely at the moment. Either way, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are going to get there first,” a source told the Daily Mail.

Duncan tells the Mirror that these types of overseas trips are the “stuff of nightmares” for the monarch, and that inside the palace there will likely be “serious concerns” about how it plays out. “This is the stuff of nightmares for the King,” the expert says. “A lot of things could go wrong when they’re making it up as they go along, basically.”

The author continues, “An awful lot of planning and efforts and discussions go into planning royal visits, even short ones that only last a couple of days. So for Harry and Meghan to be doing this, it’s an absolute slap in the face to the rest of the Royal Family.” He explains that official royal tours normally take place when the Foreign and Commonwealth Office request them, and they are known to be highly choreographed, with no detail too small to be overlooked.

But there are further issues that might come with a visit to Australia in particular, the expert explains, where there is a significant Republican sentiment, which makes this visit in his view a “risky” one. “In Australia in particular, where tensions can get quite high, you know, there have been demonstrations when royals have visited in the past. I think there’s a lot of risk attached to this. If they get it wrong it’s going to reflect badly on the royals. If the get it right it’s not going to reflect on the royals at all. So they can only lose out. I think there are very serious concerns behind palace walls.”

Larcombe says that when the couple embark upon ‘tours’ like this one, that are similar in format to the official overseas trips they took as working royals, its almost a way of being ‘half-in, half-out’ – an approach they first broached when they said they wanted to step back from being working royals full time.

“The late queen was absolutely clear that they couldn’t be half in, half out,” says Duncan. “They couldn’t have their cake and eat it. She made it absolutely crystal clear. And yet we see this happening and it’s frankly, once again, two fingers up at the Royal Family, ‘We’ll do what we want when we want to.’”

Whilst to Larcombe the trip “stinks of self promotion” he does admit that the couple might be able to “pull it off” because Harry is known to be “brilliant at public engagements.” He adds that despite their high-profile and ability to draw a crowd, “There’s issues whether or not they’re a commercial success. You know, the Netflix deal has done a lot to fund them since they’ve since they left royal work. But I think there’s a real danger that Harry and Meghan have just become one-trick ponies ‘we used to be royals’ you know ‘we are royals but we’re in exile’. I don’t think that they’ve got an awful lot to offer beyond that, to be honest.”

Overall, the expert tells the Mirror that in his opinion he believes that if the Duke “dreamt of a normal life” he fundamentally questions ‘Why fuel the attention and behave like working royals when they’re not?’”

But despite all the fault-finding out there, Harry and Meghan seem excited to travel to Australia, and have the opportunity to shine a spotlight on causes they care about whilst they are there. An insider who knows them tells the Mirror that the public should ignore the slew of “misinformation” out there, and hit back strongly at all the noise, dubbing much of the criticism – and the critics themselves – as “irrational” and “sad.”

A source who knows the couple said: “There is a lot of misinformation being spread about this trip – all designed to whip up hate. The truth is you have a couple heading down under for work. While they’re in town, they’re going to check-in on some charitable causes that they have long supported and – in the Duke’s case with the Invictus Games – he set-up.

“The couple are critically aware that by just visiting a charity, they can help shine a light on its work – bringing media attention that wouldn’t otherwise exist. They don’t have to do that; they could just as easily get paid and head straight back to California. It’s an irrational reaction to s***-can a couple who just want to support some the charitable causes close to them. God forbid they try to do any good in a world that could, frankly, use a little more Harry and Meghan, and a little less sniping from ‘Royal Commentators’ who make a living by proving hate bait for anyone willing to platform them. It’s sad. What a way to make a living.”

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Kate and William pictured with young son George on their last royal tour of Australia(Image: PA)

There have also been questions in some quarters about Harry and Meghan’s relevancy after coverage of their trip to Jordan last month was noticeably more muted. That trip came hot on the heels of Andrew Mountbatten Windsor’s arrest, which, arguably, could have worked in their favour; a couple focused on philanthropy and doing good in the world in the face of scandal. But it didn’t work out that way, and interest in the Sussexes seems to continue to wane with population polls showing a very steady decline in both the UK and the US.

The Mirror spoke to PR guru Mayah Riaz at the time, who told us: “In terms of the Andrew scandal creating space for them, I think that was always a risky assumption. Harry and Meghan no longer have the institutional weight of the monarchy behind them. Without that framework, they are competing in a very crowded celebrity marketplace. In today’s world, star power alone is not enough. You need a clear lane and a compelling reason for people to keep watching.”

Nevertheless, royal experts say this tour will be one to watch – just not perhaps in the way Harry and Meghan might hope.

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King Charles III and Queen Camilla in Sydney, in 2024(Image: PA)

“Their first tour was such a joyous, lovely time for them; the adoration was off the charts and they seemed so unaffected,” Mick Carroll, editor-in-chief of news.com.au , told the Independent. “It’s hard to predict what the reception will be this time. There’s definitely still a high level of fascination for them, although all the comments have been pretty negative.”

Similarly, royal expert Valentine Low – who accompanied the couple on their 2018 visit – told the publication: “There is nothing Australians dislike more than a whingeing Pom, and Harry has become a world-class whinger, so he might be less popular than he was.” He did, however, concede the Sussexes have “a certain celebrity gloss” that can delight those who see the rest of the royal family as “stuffy and outdated”.

Harry spoke about the 2018 trip in Spare – and said the problem was that Meghan was too big of a star. “All across Australia … she dazzled. She was so brilliant that midway through the tour I felt compelled … to warn her,” he wrote. “‘You’re doing too well, my love. You’re making it look too easy. This is how everything started … with my mother.’”