‘Behind closed doors’: Nine star Sylvia Jeffreys grills royal expert on what Aussies can expect from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s surprise visit

Appearing on Today Extra alongside Richard Wilkins on Monday, Jeffreys questioned Mirror associate editor Russell Myers about what the public can expect from the Sussexes’ surprise trip, which was revealed over the weekend.

“Do you think there will be opportunities for the public to meet and greet them like they did when they were on their royal tour, when they were official members of the royal family? Or will everything be private and behind closed doors?” Jeffreys asked.

Myers said it would be interesting to see how “sanitised” the Sussexes’ upcoming visit will be compared with the massive crowds that greeted them during their first tour in 2018.

“Because you’ll remember there were huge scenes outside of the Opera House (in 2018), and there were fans literally every single place they went to,” he said.

“But what will this trip be like? Well, there has been a lot of discussion about who is going to be paying for it- obviously, they (the Sussexes) are private citizens now, and they’ve got big business interests as well- so I can’t imagine there will be big security calls protecting them from the Australian side.

“However, one would expect there would be some form of meet and greet- but it might be hand-selected members of the charities they’re visiting.”

When Wilkins suggested the Sussexes “certainly wouldn’t warrant the same level or security” in Australia as they did when they were working royals, Myers agreed.

“No, I don’t think so- that’s something that would be very very controversial.”

Jeffreys then quipped that Prince Harry might take a different view, referencing the Duke’s ongoing legal fight with the UK government over taxpayer-funded security.

“Well Harry might disagree with that,” she said.

“Well they (the Sussexes) might do-that’s what Harry wants,” Myers replied.

The biographer also revealed that many royal watchers were caught off guard by the announcement.

“None of us saw this (trip) coming,” he told the hosts.

“We think it’s going to be in the middle of next month- but the King and Queen have a big tour to the US which is still pencilled in- and we’re not too sure whether that’s going to go ahead at the moment- but wouldn’t that be a disaster if that was to cross paths with the Kings tour- because that is not the done thing in royal circles.”

Having travelled with the Sussexes during their first major overseas tour in 2018, Myers recalled the enormous reception they received during that visit.

“We know that they had a big, successful tour- I mean I was on it- and I saw how fantastically they were received back in 2018- it was a huge tour of Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga,” Myers said.

“But, you know, Harry and Meghan said after in the Oprah Winfrey interview, which we all remember, how stressful that tour was and how they didn’t enjoy being under the media spotlight, so it’ll be really interesting to see what they’ve got in store this time.”

Wilkins pointed out that a lot has changed since the couple’s last trip to Australia over seven years ago, noting there has been a “fair bit of water under the bridge” since they stepped down as senior royals and relocated to Montecito, California.

He questioned whether the same level of excitement would still greet them from Aussies. 

“Well, I remember being on that original tour, and it was just packed to the rafters with thousands and thousands of people wherever they went- they were absolutely at the height of their powers- proper superstars at the time,” Myers said.

“But there have been lots of fractures in the relationships between Meghan and Harry and the rest of the royal family since then. And so, is there still star power there? I mean, that’s arguable isn’t it.

“We’ve seen Netflix deals come and go, we’ve seen Spotify deals and book tours from Harry- which has upset a lot of people.”

Despite the uncertainty, Myers suggested the visit is likely to focus largely on charity and professional commitments.

“But I know they will be doing some stuff with the ADF (Australian Defence Force)” he said, adding that “Meghan has got a podcast she will be speaking on in Australia.“

“That is kind of what I think this (trip) is going to be- not some big interviews about the fractures with the royal family at this time.”