{"id":355689,"date":"2026-03-24T14:56:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-24T14:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/355689\/"},"modified":"2026-03-24T14:56:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-24T14:56:10","slug":"harry-and-meghans-visit-must-not-be-publicly-funded-demand-australians","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/355689\/","title":{"rendered":"Harry and Meghan\u2019s visit must not be publicly funded, demand Australians"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The Duke and Duchess of Sussex\u2019s security during their upcoming visit to Australia should not be funded by the taxpayer, a petition with thousands of signatures has demanded.<\/p>\n<p>In a move that could overshadow the couple\u2019s arrival next month, a campaign launched by an advocacy group has urged the Australian government not to use public resources to provide security, logistics or government co-ordination.<\/p>\n<p>By Tuesday morning, the\u00a0Change.org\u00a0petition had received 32,407 signatures.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"   height=\"2126\" width=\"3186\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/f71998af-a0ed-47a9-88a5-91bd8fd97b25.jpg\" alt=\"Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, smiles next to a koala bear eating eucalyptus leaves during a visit to Taronga Zoo in Sydney.\" class=\"wp-image-21081739\"\/>Meghan greets a koala on a visit to Taronga Zoo SydneyPaul Edwards\/The Sun<\/p>\n<p>Meghan is due to host a wellness weekend for women at a five-star hotel in Sydney for which ticket prices start at about \u00a31,400, while <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/topic\/prince-harry\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Prince Harry<\/a> is expected to speak at a psychosocial safety conference in Melbourne.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond Australia, the group behind the campaign, said: \u201cThe activities are private and commercial and must be treated strictly as a private visit.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAt a time when Australians are facing significant cost of living pressures, including rising grocery bills, fuel prices, mortgage stress driven by interest rate hikes, and increasing energy costs, public resources must be used responsibly and applied fairly without special treatment for high-profile individuals.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Daily Briefing newsletter<\/p>\n<p>Get our top stories and exclusive analysis sent straight to your inbox every morning.<\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\tSign up with one click<\/p>\n<p>The last time the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thetimes.com\/topic\/harry-and-meghan\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">couple<\/a> visited Australia was in 2018, when they were senior working members of the royal family. They stayed at the governor-general\u2019s residence overlooking Sydney Harbour and were given a police escort wherever they went. Their presence received widespread public support.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\"   height=\"3360\" width=\"5054\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/d2bc5828-2139-4020-9a7d-ff88f6853fb4.jpg\" alt=\"Meghan and Harry on Sydney Harbour looking out at Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge during day two of the Invictus Games Sydney 2018.\" class=\"wp-image-21081740\"\/>Harry and Meghan in Sydney HarbourChris Jackson\/Getty Images for the Invictus Games Foundation<\/p>\n<p>Ticket sales for Meghan\u2019s \u201cHer Best Life Retreat\u201d, a three-day event that has sold out, could help to finance the trip.<\/p>\n<p>VIP ticket holders are entitled to front-row seats and a group photograph when Meghan speaks at a gala dinner at the newly-built Intercontinental Hotel overlooking Sydney\u2019s Coogee beach.<\/p>\n<p>The hotel is rushing to complete its lavish facilities, described on its website as \u201ca new era of beachside elegance\u201d, in time for Meghan\u2019s arrival. Its \u201cphased opening date\u201d is scheduled for next month.<\/p>\n<p>However, the\u00a0marketing may not live up to expectations. Residents recently reported an unpleasant smell from brown balls washed up on the beach. They are believed to originate in Sydney\u2019s sewage system and to contain a combination of cooking oil, soap scum and human waste.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Duke and Duchess of Sussex\u2019s security during their upcoming visit to Australia should not be funded by&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":355690,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[458,146,85,46],"class_list":["post-355689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-il","tag-israel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=355689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/355689\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/355690"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=355689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=355689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=355689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}