Harry and Meghan are headed Down Under but they’ve been warned they might not get the warm welcome they will no doubt be hoping for.
Instead, the Sussexes will need ”thick skin” if they want to weather the tide that has turned against them and other royals since their last visit to Australia, royal commentators say.
The pair were last in Australia more than seven years ago and much has changed.
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Back in October 2018, huge crowds turned out as the then-working royals toured schools, zoos, beaches and non-profits in NSW, Victoria and Queensland.
Adding to the outpouring of love from locals was the announcement during the visit that Meghan was pregnant with their son Archie.
Prince Harry and Meghan, got a rockstar welcome last time the visited Australia. Credit: Chris Jackson/Getty Images
But that was before 2020’s “Megxit” and Harry and Meghan’s decision to step down as senior royals and instead pursue a life and business interests in the entertainment industry in Los Angeles — and tipping a bucket on their family in the process.
Setting the scene for a far different reception this time around is also the ongoing debate within Australia over whether the country should dump the monarchy and become a republic and concern about the royal family’s handling of the scandal surrounding Prince Andrew’s links to paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
A Roy Morgan poll taken just as King Charles and Queen Camilla’s visit to Australia came to an end in October 2024 showed the majority of Australians, 57 per cent, still believed Australia should remain a monarchy, but that was down on a poll taken two years earlier in the aftermath of Queen Elizabeth’s death.
Prince Harry and Meghan meet with local children at Dubbo Airport in 2018. Credit: Cameron Spencer/METHODE
Royal commentator Tom Sykes has warned the Sussexes are “likely to be lightning rods in Australia’s ongoing debate about the royal family and the country’s constitutional future”.
“Expect questions to be raised about why Harry and Meghan are visiting while more senior royals such as the Prince and Princess of Wales are not,” Sykes writes for his The Royalist substack.
“Any new polling commissioned ahead of or during the trip will offer a clearer picture of how Australians now view the couple compared with the rapturous scenes of 2018, when Meghan’s pregnancy announcement added to the sense of excitement around a pair once seen as bringing modernising energy to the monarchy.
“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.”
In fact, a petition has already been circulated on change.org demanding Australian taxpayers not be expected to fund security, logistics or government coordination during their visit.
“Any visit to Australia must be treated strictly as a private trip,” the petition states.
“At a time when Australians are facing serious cost of living pressures, public resources must be used responsibly. Taxpayer-funded security, government coordination or any form of official status should not be provided for a private visit.”
One person who signed the petition was firm in their view that no taxpayer dollars should be used to facilitate the visit, writing “They chose to leave (the royal family), The late Queen ll made it clear. No half in, half out. They chose out so that’s the issue solved right there & therefore we are not under any obligation to invite them & certainly not to fund them in any way whatsoever.”
One source told the Daily Mail that the visit would inevitably prompt questions about why there haven’t been more frequent visits by other members of the family.
“It will throw the spotlight on the Prince and Princess of Wales in particular.”
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese extended an invitation to Prince William and Princess Catherine to visit Australia after he met with King Charles in the UK in September. And, while a July or August visit has been rumoured, nothing has been confirmed.
Announcing Harry and Meghan’s tour on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Sussexes said “Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex will visit Australia in mid-April to take part in a number of private, business, and philanthropic engagements. Further details will be shared in due course.”
Neither Archie or Lilibet are expected to join the couple, The Sun reports.