The Duchess of Sussex was inundated with compliments as she served up lunch to homeless women at a shelter in Melbourne on the first day of her and Prince Harry’s four-day trip.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are currently embarking on a four-day quasi-royal tour Down Under that some have suggested is a ‘money-making’ exercise in ‘self promotion’.
The Sussexes said they were delighted to be in the country after landing in Melbourne earlier today on a business class flight from Los Angeles without their children Archie, four, and Lilibet, six.
After a visit to the Royal Children’s Hospital, Meghan carried out a solo engagement at the McAuley Community Services for Women, a women’s homeless and family violence shelter, where she donned a striped apron as she was photographed serving food to residents.
In a clip filmed at the shelter, one resident can be heard complimenting Meghan’s ‘glowing’ complexion as she gushed ‘you look like a model!’
The woman, who was identified as Leah, continued ‘You don’t have wrinkles’ as Meghan replied: ‘That’s so generous, you are so nice!’
The Duchess then handed her a plate of frittata as royal fans agreed Meghan has ‘great skin’ after the video was posted on Instagram.
Meghan wore a $1,250 navy dress from Australian designer Karen Gee, which she paired with Dior’s $1,000 ‘Dioressence’ pointed-toe pumps that she first debuted in 2023.
Adding a touch of glitz to her ensemble, Meghan sported yellow gold Puffy Heart earrings by Australian Real Fine Studio, costing $1,118, a Tiffany gold bracelet, and Princess Diana’s gold Cartier Tank Française watch.
It’s understood that Meghan handpicked the McAuley facility for a visit.
‘It’s very lovely to have attention on the whole issue of homelessness and family violence and she will bring that attention to this facility, so that’s good,’ McAuley CEO Jocelyn Bignold told reporters.
‘The women are excited to see and meet her. They’re also a little bit nervous.’
She added that some residents were aware of Meghan’s lifestyle show As Ever and looked forward to cooking with her in the centre’s kitchen.
Earlier in the day, Prince Harry exuberantly greeted a young fan with fiery red hair after they arrived at the Royal Children’s Hospital for their first engagement of the day.
The Duke couldn’t contain his excitement when he noticed a fellow redhead in the crowd and stopped to greet him with a handshake.
‘Yes!’ the Duke, 41, exclaimed, after he spotted the royal fan, wearing a black t-shirt, amid the crowd in the hospital’s foyer. ‘Gingers rule!’
Meanwhile, one of the patients at the hospital said she gave Harry ‘some flowers’ and told ABC News that he and Meghan ‘wished me good luck on my journey and to keep being brave’.
They later toured the wards to make some bedside visits, while Meghan took part in a therapy program with adolescent patients with acute and chronic health issues, on the first day of their quasi-royal tour Down Under.
Meghan also told well-wishers to ‘call me Meg’ when she joined Prince Harry for a visit to the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum for their final stop on day one of the controversial pseudo-royal tour.
As they arrived, Australia’s first poet laureate for veterans, Steve Cotterill, asked them: ‘How would you like me to address you?’
Harry shrugged with a smile and said: ‘However you like’ before his wife said: ‘Call me Meg?’
The couple landed from LA early on Tuesday and their itinerary this week will include charity and business events in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney.
It is not known how much Prince Harry and Meghan are being paid for their commercial appearances, although the Duchess’s fee for going to a girls’ weekend beach retreat is apparently in the region of $250,000. Although the hotel event has failed to sell out, the Daily Mail can reveal.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been accused of using Australia ‘like an ATM’ on a quasi-royal tour that some insist is all about ‘making money’ and ‘self-promotion’.
And amid a row over how their security is being paid for, Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said: ‘Victoria Police are there to provide security and safety for Victorians. So any suggestion that officers are going to be pulled off duty to provide security and protection for Harry and Meghan’s visit is absolutely unacceptable.’
Libertarian MP David Limbrick said: ‘If people want to spend thousands of dollars on former royals, that’s fine. But Victorian taxpayers should not be on the hook to provide the security of millionaires.’
Australian business leader Hilary Fordwich declared that ‘hypocritical Harry and Me-again Meghan’ were using their royal links ‘to make money’ for themselves.
She told Sky News that while the couple claim the visit is ‘private’, she believes it is ‘to fund that 16-bedroom house they have in Montecito.’
As they arrived, Harry was asked if he had a message for Australia and said: ‘It’s wonderful. It’s great to be back. Thanks for having us back.’
But it appears not all are pleased to see them for the first time since 2018, when they were in the country for a nine-day official royal tour just after their wedding.
Andrew Bridge said today: ‘I wasn’t aware they were coming at all. They are very much about self-promotion. They would probably be my least favourite royals, let’s put it that way. They need to do more for the public and finish this feud with their family, which to be honest is becoming pretty boring.’
The four-day trip will also see Harry and Meghan attend an Invictus Australia event in Sydney before Meghan stars at the ‘Her Best Life’ retreat at nearby Coogee Beach.
Tickets for the weekend cost up to $3,199 AUD (£1,400) and include a chance to have a photo with the Duchess and ask her questions at a gala dinner in a five-star hotel. Meghan’s fee has been described as a ‘fat one’, and is apparently in the region of $250,000.
Harry is the star speaker at the InterEdge Summit in Melbourne on Thursday, where tickets range from £525 to £1,250 with a ‘virtual ticket’ for Harry’s speech costing £260 alone.
The couple insist their 2026 trip is ‘privately-funded’ but there is some disquiet because Australian taxpayers are due to foot the bill for some police security. Tens of thousands of people have signed a petition demanding the Sussexes cover all the costs themselves.
One critic accused them of treating Australia ‘like an ATM’ because the country had been ‘good to them’ when they were working royals.
Harry and Meghan’s last visit to Australia was almost a decade ago, as newlyweds.
