Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s four-day quasi-royal tour of Australia is underway with trips to a children’s hospital to meet cancer patients before Meghan served food at a homeless shelter.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they were delighted to be Down Under as they landed in Melbourne early on Tuesday aboard a business class Qantas flight from Los Angeles – but Lilibet and Archie have stayed at home.
The visit – which the couple insist is ‘privately-funded’ – will 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 upwards of £1,400 and including a chance to have a photo with the Duchess and ask her questions at a gala dinner in a 5-star hotel. Meghan’s fee has been described as a ‘fat one’, and is apparently in the region of $250,000.
A large crowd gathered at the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne for Harry and Meghan’s first event this morning.
A group of about 70 staff, parents and young patients waited in the hospital foyer of in excited anticipation for the couple, who then visited Adolescent Oncology and Rehabilitation ward and took part in a garden therapy session.
Later Meghan went on a solo visit to a Melbourne homeless and domestic violence shelter where she served food to residents.
And then the Sussexes went to the National Veterans Arts Museum. When asked if they had a message for the Australian public, Harry said it was ‘great’ to be there, adding: ‘Thanks for having us back’.
The couple landed in Australia early this morning and their itinerary will include charity and business events in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney. But there will apparently be no walkabouts to meet the public.
There is some disquiet because Australian taxpayers are due to foot the bill for police security at some events. Tens of thousands of people have signed a petition demanding they cover all the costs themselves.
Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said today: ‘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, and the government needs to rule out that this is occurring.’
Libertarian MP David Limbrick added: ‘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.’
It is not known how much Prince Harry and Meghan are being paid for their commercial events But as they landed in the city, Melburnian Andrew Bridge said today that the couple’s trip Down Under was clearly about ‘self-promotion’.
After arriving in Australia this morning, the couple spoke to children and posed for photographs outside the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne amid surprise from locals.
One parent, Pina Roberts, told the Daily Mail: ‘I just came here and was like, what is going on?’ Anything that acknowledges us (patients and parents at the hospital) is good thing.
‘But I didn’t even know they were coming, so I would wonder why they are actually here.’
Four-year-old patient Lily held up a hand-drawn sign that said: ‘Welcome Harry and Meghan’. She presented a flower to the duchess as they arrived.
Meghan hugged Lily after being presented with the gifts and told her: ‘Oh my gosh, this is so sweet. I love it.’
After being shown Lily’s sign, Harry said: ‘Nice to meet you, Lily. That’s beautiful. How long did it take?’
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex took part in a garden therapy session with patients at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, smelling plants and flowers.
Asked if he would like to take some gumtree home, Harry, wearing a navy jacket, white shirt and metal bracelets, joked: ‘I would, but I think I’d probably get arrested at some point.’
Meghan, wearing a Karen Gee navy sleeveless dress, asked the patients: ‘Do you find that different stories and memories come out that you weren’t expecting?’
The couple visited wards at the hospital and met patients with eating disorders.
Following the Royal Children’s Hospital visit, the Duchess of Sussex visited a women’s refuge in Melbourne.
Meghan donned an apron and served frittata to people at the centre, run by McAuley Community Services for Women, which supports women and children experiencing family violence, homelessness and related challenges.
After serving several people, the duchess asked ‘is anyone else hungry?’, while looking and smiling at the press and other people gathered in the centre.
Meghan then sat down at a table and joined people eating food, telling them: ‘We landed here this morning so my jet lag hasn’t quite hit yet.’
The centre provides round-the-clock crisis accommodation, refuge services and longer-term housing, alongside programmes focused on recovery, wellbeing and independence.
While greeting crowds at the Royal Children’s Hospital, the Duke of Sussex hugged Christina Parkes, who works as an academic at the University of Melbourne.
Ms Parkes, whose 13-year-old daughter Adelaide is a patient at the hospital, said it ‘means an enormous amount’ to have the couple visit Australia.
Speaking before Harry and Meghan arrived, Ms Parkes told the Press Association: ‘I’m absolutely thrilled to see the couple. Harry’s grandmother actually opened the hospital originally, and her portrait and his grandfather’s portrait are in the hallway.’
Asked what she would say to the couple, she said: ‘Welcome to Australia, we hope they enjoy their time here.
‘Thank you for taking the time to visit the hospital and see the work that the doctors and nurses are doing.
‘I cannot overstate how important the work is that they do here at the children’s hospital because my daughter wouldn’t be here without them.’
