Prince Harry has reportedly set his sights on a potential role in Australia as he searches for a way to reconnect with royal life, according to a new insider claim.
The 41-year-old Duke of Sussex, who stepped down as a senior working royal in 2020 before relocating to the United States with his wife, Meghan Markle, 44, is said to have “privately floated the idea” of taking on an overseas role in service of his father, King Charles III.
According to the source, with a permanent return to Britain considered off the table for Meghan, Harry sees Australia as an ideal location.
“Meghan has no interest in moving back to Britain,” the insider told royal reporter Rob Shuter.
“Harry believes an overseas role, particularly in Australia, would allow them to serve the King while keeping the life he has built with Meghan and the children.”
The source claimed Harry has looked to history for inspiration, pointing to the Duke of Windsor- formerly King Edward VIII- who was appointed Governor of the Bahamas in 1940 after abdicating the throne to marry Wallis Simpson, a twice-divorced American socialite.
Despite the reported proposal, a palace source told Shuter that while the 77-year-old monarch remains keen to rebuild his personal relationship with his youngest son, he is unlikely to support such an arrangement.
The insider also noted a significant constitutional hurdle, with Australia’s Governor-General appointed by the King only on the advice of the Australian Prime Minister.
Buckingham Palace has no authority to select the candidate or influence the appointment, meaning the position is ultimately outside the King’s control.
“Harry thinks there’s a creative compromise,” the source said.
“The institution believes the rules already exist. They’re not going to reinvent the monarchy for one family member.”
The reported plans emerge just over a week after Harry, Meghan and their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, travelled to Highgrove House to meet King Charles and Queen Camilla.
The visit marked Meghan and the children’s first trip to the UK since 2022 and only the second time Lilibet had met her paternal grandparents.
It also follows the Sussexes’ privately funded four-day tour of Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney in mid-April.
The couple, who last visited Australia together in 2018, travelled without Archie and Lilibet, who remained at their home in Montecito, California.
Their itinerary combined charity appearances with commercial ventures, including Invictus Australia engagements, a visit to the Royal Children’s Hospital, a stop at the Australian War Memorial, a paid keynote address by Harry and Meghan’s ‘Ultimate Girls Weekend’ event alongside former radio host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson and her manager, Gemma O’Neill.
During the trip, Meghan also unveiled her AI-powered fashion platform, OneOff, where she is both an investor and participant, allowing followers to shop the outfits she wore throughout the tour.
The Sussexes received a relatively warm reception from many Australians during the visit, with O’Neill writing on Instagram: “We could not adore you more, Meghan!”
However, polling conducted by Roy Morgan and shared by Channel Seven suggested the visit did little to shift public opinion.
Research involving 1,767 Australians aged 18 and over found that 81 per cent said the tour had not improved their opinion of the couple.
The survey also found that 87 per cent did not believe the visit would help repair Harry’s relationship with King Charles, while 51 per cent said they did not think the late Queen Elizabeth II would have approved of the trip “given Harry stepped back as a working royal”.
Meanwhile, 75 per cent of respondents said the visit had not improved their opinion of Meghan, while 69 per cent rejected the idea that the couple had been treated unfairly by the Royal Family.
When asked whether they would support Harry and Meghan relocating to Australia, 59 per cent said they would not.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.skynews.com.au ’
