Harry and Meghan touch down for first Australian trip since royal exit

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have landed in Australia ahead of their non-royal tour of the eastern seaboard.

Prince Harry and the lightning rod formerly known as Meghan Markle touched down at Melbourne Airport on Tuesday morning, flying in on a commercial flight and leaving the airport’s VIP arrivals area with little fanfare for their first series of business and philanthropic engagements in their capacity as private citizens.

They were flying business class in a Dreamliner, in row three.

“It wasn’t until we got off the plane that we realised it was them,” one excited American flying on the same QF94 flight told this masthead.

An Australian passenger who only saw Harry said, “I’ve never seen anyone look so refreshed getting off a flight before.”

Harry and Meghan also travelled in a first-class suite on board a Qantas flight for their notorious 16-day official royal tour to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga in 2018.

But the circumstances could not be more different. In 2018, the couple walked out of Sydney Airport’s back entrance into a waiting motorcade, escorted by NSW Police to Admiralty House in Kirribilli.

Almost eight years on, no such police escort was waiting for them in Melbourne.

Instead, they were whisked away in private cars.

Harry and Meghan’s first overseas royal tour to Australia and the South Pacific, where they were greeted like rock stars at each one of their 76 engagements, was a catalyst for their resignation as senior working royals.

Two children and countless controversies later, they are now gracing our boundless plains on behalf of Brand Sussex.

Why are Harry and Meghan coming to Australia?

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s visit to Australia this week is not an official royal tour, their camp insists.

It can’t be anyway. Their royal resignation means they can no longer travel to this key Commonwealth realm on behalf of the British monarchy.

But aside from the lack of government-hosted functions and public meet and greets, what’s listed on their itinerary doesn’t look too different from their notorious 16-day trip to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga in 2018.

The couple’s private engagements, which support their broader commercial, charitable and community objectives, are considered separate from their core program: public-facing engagements. But Harry and Meghan’s team insist it’s also not a publicity tour.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are focusing on amplifying organisations delivering measurable impact, with said organisations chosen based on their long-standing relationships with Harry and Meghan, or because the work aligns with the couple’s priority areas.

Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four, are not travelling with Harry and Meghan.

What is Harry and Meghan’s schedule in Australia?

Harry and Meghan’s non-official royal tour kicks off in Melbourne today, with a visit to the Royal Children’s Hospital and an engagement with veteran families at the Australian National Veterans’ Art Museum. Meghan will also visit a shelter for homeless women and survivors of family violence.

On Wednesday, Harry will visit the Western Bulldogs headquarters with Movember, before travelling to Canberra to visit the Australian War Memorial and First Nations veterans, and attend a Last Post Ceremony and a reception for Invictus Australia.

Invictus Australia has announced it plans to bid to host the Invictus Games – the international multi-sport competition for wounded, injured and sick military service personnel and veterans founded by Harry in 2014 – in Australia in 2031.

The non-profit will work over the next 12 months to develop a comprehensive proposal to once again host the event, an expensive endeavour in itself (to which the Coalition pledged $1.5 million if Peter Dutton won the 2025 federal election).

Said proposal needs to demonstrate the event, if hosted in Australia, would have broad national support, including funding. As such, Invictus Australia is currently inviting government and corporate stakeholders to engage and demonstrate their backing of the initiative, which Harry may be able to assist with on his visit.

But when asked about whether Harry is greasing the wheels, Invictus Australia chief executive Michael Hartung emphasised the reception will be full of as many veterans and Invictus Games alumni as corporate and government partners.

“[Harry’s] time in Australia will be really focused on talking a bit about that global work, that global movement and the wonderful work of Invictus Australia since we were stood up as a legacy coming out of the 2018 Games,” Hartung told this masthead.

“Australia is leading the world in terms of beyond the Games work in Invictus [Australia, as an organisation]. We’re the first country to have this ongoing program, and certainly to achieve this sort of scale in delivery. That’s something that we’re proud of as Australians. And he will be recognising that.”

Thursday will see the duke and duchess do Melbourne’s Scar Tree Walk, a tour through Aboriginal art installations along the Yarra River through to a traditional Kulin Nations meeting place, which is now the site of the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and protected Scar Trees. They will then visit youth mental health program batyr, before heading to the InterEdge summit.

Like they did in 2018, Harry and Meghan will sail around Sydney Harbour on Friday, before attending the Super Rugby match between NSW Waratahs and Moana Pasifika at Allianz Stadium.

While not listed on the couple’s itinerary, we do know that IP Australia accepted Meghan’s application to trademark her As Ever lifestyle products in June.

London’s The Telegraph is reporting that private meetings with potential buyers, partners and marketing executives are on the agenda.

What else is on Harry and Meghan’s Australian itinerary?

Harry and Meghan are conducting a series of private, business and philanthropic engagements across Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney this week.

A focal point of their program is support for veterans, with Harry tipped to attend events at the Australian War Memorial supporting Invictus Australia’s intention to bid to host the Invictus Games in 2031.

What’s caught the eyes of the public, however, are the two ticketed events Harry and Meghan are headlining: the first being the InterEdge Psychosocial Safety Summit, where Harry is scheduled to give a keynote address in Melbourne on Thursday.

Presented by Lifeline Narrm, the event aims to address rising psychological injury and mental health concerns in Australian workplaces.

Speakers include social psychologist Dr Amy Cuddy, The Imperfects podcast host Hugh van Cuylenburg, and former professional tennis player Jelena Dokic, who is a mental health advocate.

Guests can pay $498 for the pleasure to attend sessions virtually, with the lowest-cost in-person ticket priced at $997. Sales support Lifeline Narrm services in Victoria, including community education programs, crisis support and suicide prevention initiatives.

Meghan, meanwhile, is headlining a “girls’ weekend like no other” in Sydney – Her Best Life’s luxury retreat at InterContinental Sydney Coogee Beach from April 17 to April 19.

Only 300 tickets were available at launch, starting from $2699 per person. That includes a seat at the Q&A between the duchess and Gemma O’Neill, who founded the podcast with best friend and former co-host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson, and the gala dinner Meghan is billed to attend.

For an extra $500, guests can secure a VIP package, and the Holy Grail: a “group table photo” with Meghan.

Are taxpayers funding Harry and Meghan’s trip to Australia?

Well … yes and no.

Harry and Meghan’s team have maintained that the trip is being privately funded. But some policing services provided for the couple will be coming out of the public’s pocket.

It will likely be a case similar to Harry and Meghan’s private trip to Colombia in 2024, where they paid for their own flights, accommodation and general expenses. Colombian taxpayers, however, shelled out about $85,000 for internal transport and security. Read more here.

What have Harry and Meghan said about their 2018 Australia tour?

Seventy-six engagements were packed into Harry and Meghan’s 16-day tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga in 2018, their first overseas royal tour as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

The newlyweds had announced Meghan’s pregnancy just hours after landing in Sydney on a rainy October day. Their subsequent rock star reception at each event was a catalyst for their resignation as senior working royals.

“They were really welcoming [of Meghan]. But it really changed after the Australia tour. After our South Pacific tour,” Harry claimed to Oprah Winfrey of the British royal family’s treatment of his wife during the couple’s bombshell 2021 interview.

“It was also the first time that the family got to see how incredible she is at the job. And that brought back memories.”

He was referring to Diana, Princess of Wales’ popularity over then-Prince Charles when they toured Australia in 1983. Winfrey prodded, “So are you saying that there were hints of jealousy?”

Harry responded: “I just wish that we would all learn from the past.

“But to see how effortless it was for Meghan to come into the family so quickly, in Australia, and across New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga, and just be able to connect with people … You know, as we talked about, she was very much welcomed into the family, not just by the family, but by the world, certainly by the Commonwealth.

“Really, here you have one of the greatest assets to the Commonwealth that the family could have ever wished for,” he continued.

Meghan, meanwhile, told Winfrey that when they returned from the Australia tour, she realised the Sussexes “weren’t being protected” by The Firm.

Harry and Meghan’s previous trip to Australia included attending the Invictus Games, which Sydney hosted in 2018.

This time, there won’t be a screaming horde watching them walk down the Opera House steps. And, while Governor-General Sam Mostyn will be providing a virtual welcome message to those gathered at the summit in Melbourne in her capacity as a Lifeline Australia patron, she won’t be hosting Harry and Meghan at Sydney’s Admiralty House, as protocol dictates for royal visits.

After all, the Sussexes are now private citizens. That means Meghan, who, if you believe tabloid gossip, apparently could not believe she wasn’t getting paid for her efforts in Australia almost a decade ago, has her wish: their trip will largely occur behind a paywall.

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