{"id":590990,"date":"2026-04-07T10:04:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T10:04:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/590990\/"},"modified":"2026-04-07T10:04:16","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T10:04:16","slug":"what-we-know-about-the-duke-and-duchess-of-sussexs-first-trip-to-australia-since-royal-exit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/590990\/","title":{"rendered":"What we know about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex\u2019s first trip to Australia since royal exit"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Seventy-six engagements were packed into the notorious 16-day trip to Australia<\/a>, New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga in 2018 by Prince Harry and the lightning rod<\/a> formerly known as Meghan Markle.<\/p>\n

The newlyweds had announced the Duchess of Sussex\u2019s pregnancy just hours after landing in Sydney<\/a> on a rainy October day. Their subsequent rock star reception at each event was a catalyst for their resignation<\/a> as senior working royals.<\/p>\n

\"MeghanMeghan and Harry at Bondi Beach in 2018, on day four of the couple\u2019s first overseas royal tour as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.PA Pool<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were really welcoming [of Meghan]. But it really changed after the Australia tour. After our South Pacific tour,\u201d the Duke of Sussex later claimed to Oprah Winfrey<\/a> of the British royal family\u2019s treatment of his wife.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was also the first time that the family got to see how incredible she is at the job. And that brought back memories.\u201d<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Meghan<\/a><\/p>\n

Winfrey confirmed he was alluding to the sore point of Diana, Princess of Wales\u2019 popularity compared with then-Prince Charles when they toured Australia in 1983<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Their 2018 visit was the couple\u2019s first \u2013 and last \u2013 overseas royal tour to Australia, a key Commonwealth realm, for the sake of the British monarchy.<\/p>\n

But it\u2019s not the final time Harry and Meghan would visit Australia. Almost eight years, two children and countless controversies later, they are gracing our boundless plains<\/a> on behalf of Brand Sussex.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what we know about their trip so far.<\/p>\n

When are Harry and Meghan coming to Australia?<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan confirmed<\/a> to ITV Royal Editor Chris Ship last month the couple will be in Australia in mid-April for a \u201cnumber of private, business, and philanthropic engagements\u201d. So far, two ticketed events have been announced.<\/p>\n

Harry is scheduled to give a keynote address at the InterEdge Psychosocial Safety Summit, which runs from April 15 to April 16 in Melbourne.<\/p>\n

Presented by Lifeline Narrm, the event aims to address rising psychological injury<\/a> and mental health concerns in Australian workplaces. Speakers include social psychologist Dr Amy Cuddy, The Imperfects<\/a> podcast host Hugh van Cuylenburg<\/a>, and former professional tennis player Jelena Dokic<\/a>, who is a mental health advocate.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Meghan,<\/a><\/p>\n

Guests can pay $498 for the pleasure to attend sessions virtually, with the lowest-cost in-person ticket priced at $997. Sales support Lifeline Narrm services in Victoria, including community education programs, crisis support and suicide prevention initiatives.<\/p>\n

Meghan, meanwhile, is headlining a \u201cgirls\u2019 weekend like no other\u201d in Sydney \u2013 Her Best Life<\/a>\u2019s luxury retreat at InterContinental Sydney Coogee Beach from April 17 to April 19.<\/p>\n

Only 300 tickets were available at launch, starting from $2699 per person. That includes a seat at the Q&A between the duchess and Gemma O\u2019Neill, who founded the podcast with best friend and former co-host Jackie \u2018O\u2019 Henderson<\/a>, and the gala dinner Meghan is billed to attend.<\/p>\n

For an extra $500, guests can secure a VIP package, and the Holy Grail: a \u201cgroup table photo\u201d with Meghan.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

What is Harry and Meghan\u2019s schedule in Australia?<\/p>\n

Not much else has been confirmed ahead of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex\u2019s imminent arrival.<\/p>\n

We do know that IP Australia accepted Meghan\u2019s application<\/a> to trademark her As Ever lifestyle products<\/a> in June, with London\u2019s The Telegraph reporting private meetings with potential buyers, partners and marketing executives are on the itinerary.<\/p>\n

We also know that Invictus Australia has announced<\/a> it plans to bid to host the Invictus Games<\/a> \u2013 the international multi-sport competition for wounded, injured and sick military service personnel and veterans founded by Harry in 2014 \u2013 in Australia in 2031.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"A<\/a><\/p>\n

The non-profit will work over the next 12 months to develop a comprehensive proposal to once again host the event, an expensive endeavour in itself (to which the Coalition pledged<\/a> $1.5 million if Peter Dutton won the 2025 federal election).<\/p>\n

Said proposal needs to demonstrate the event, if hosted in Australia, would have broad national support, including funding.<\/p>\n

Invictus Australia is currently inviting government and corporate stakeholders to engage and demonstrate their backing of the initiative, which Harry may be able to assist with on his visit.<\/p>\n

Harry and Meghan\u2019s previous trip to Australia included attending the Invictus Games<\/a>, which Sydney hosted in 2018.<\/p>\n

This time, there won\u2019t be a screaming horde watching them walk down the Opera House steps<\/a>, and, while Governor-General Sam Mostyn will be in Melbourne with Harry in her capacity as a patron of Lifeline Australia, she won\u2019t be hosting the couple at Sydney\u2019s Admiralty House, as protocol dictates for royal visits.<\/p>\n

After all, the Sussexes are now private citizens. That means Meghan, who reportedly<\/a> could not believe she wasn\u2019t getting paid for her efforts in Australia almost a decade ago, has her wish: their trip will largely occur behind a paywall.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day\u2019s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"BronteBronte Gossling<\/a> is a reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, WAtoday and Brisbane Times.Connect via email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":590991,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":["post-590990","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-australia","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590990","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=590990"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/590990\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/590991"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=590990"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=590990"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=590990"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}