Harry and Meghan return for a ‘quasi-royal’ tour of Australia, with a commercial bent

The last time the Sussexes visited Australia in 2018, they were newly married, popular, and still well within the royal fold.

None of those things are true anymore.

Even so, this still looks very much like a royal visit — although officially, it very much is not.

Harry and Meghan will be travelling under their titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and spending much of the week making the rounds of various charities and causes they have aligned themselves with.

It begins today at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, followed by a visit to a women’s homeless and family violence shelter by the duchess, then an event this evening with the families of war veterans.

Tomorrow, Harry will appear at a Movember event at Melbourne’s Whitten Oval, alongside players from the Western Bulldogs AFL team, before flying to Canberra for events at the Australian War Memorial — where he will meet with Indigenous veterans, and attend a Last Post Ceremony.

On Thursday, they will be in Melbourne again, attending Indigenous and mental health events, before heading to Sydney on Friday to promote Invictus Australia, the veterans’ charity he founded.

But there are some significant differences to a standard royal tour — most notably, the commercial aspect.

According to a media statement issued before their arrival in Australia, the Sussexes’ program “will focus on mental health, community resilience, and support for veterans and their families, alongside private meetings and special projects”.

Those “private meetings and special projects” include two major, ticketed events.

Harry will deliver a speech at a conference in Melbourne on Thursday, while Meghan is the star attraction at a luxury wellness event at Coogee Beach in Sydney next weekend.

According to the media statement, the Sussexes have included private events “to support broader commercial, charitable, and community objectives”.

“These are separate from the core programme of public-facing visits.”

So is it a publicity tour?

The media statement also poses, and responds, to that question like this:

“The programme is rooted in long-standing areas of work for the Duke and Duchess, with a clear focus on amplifying organisations delivering measurable impact. The visit prioritises listening, learning and supporting communities rather than promotion.”

Excitement likely to be dulled around ‘quasi-royal tour’

Royal expert Giselle Bastin, from Flinders University, described the commercial aspect of the tour as “unusual” and said the royals would not be impressed that the Sussexes were “monetising their visit to Australia”.

“The fact that they are not working royals and are staging this visit as a quasi-royal tour would leave the Windsors nonplussed,” she said.

“I suspect there will be many Australians — who were once big fans of Harry and Meghan — who will now be more sceptical of their motives.”

She said the level of excitement surrounding their 2018 visit was likely to be much more restrained during this one.

“Both Prince Harry and Meghan were greeted by many Australians with considerable excitement in 2018, but I suspect — while there will be many royal fans still thrilled to see the couple — there won’t be as much excitement this time”, she said.

“Since 2018, Harry and Meghan have ceased to be working royals, moved to California, and spent countless hours in media outlets expressing their dislike for the royal system, for particular royals, and for Britain and its tabloid culture of racism and sexism.

“They are thought to have cast a shadow over the final years of the late Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, and for this they have attracted the ire of many a royal enthusiast.”

In the UK, favourability trackers suggest just 31 per cent and 19 per cent of the public have a positive view of Harry and Meghan, respectively, with the couple’s ratings only higher than disgraced Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor.

Dr Bastin said the pair’s tour down under was being poorly perceived in the UK.

“The tabloid press is having its usual field day with the way the Sussexes have not ‘read the room’ with this visit, especially as it comes just before King Charles III is due to visit the USA for the 250th celebration of American Independence,” she said.

The prince has long criticised the UK’s tabloid press, telling a British court this year certain outlets had left him “paranoid beyond belief” while making his wife’s life “an absolute misery”.