{"id":471304,"date":"2026-03-12T10:48:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T10:48:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/471304\/"},"modified":"2026-03-12T10:48:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T10:48:11","slug":"harry-and-meghan-return-to-oz-but-the-royal-honeymoon-is-long-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/471304\/","title":{"rendered":"Harry and Meghan return to Oz \u2013 but the royal honeymoon is long over"},"content":{"rendered":"

It was announced on Sunday that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex <\/a>will return to Australia next month on a surprise two to three-day trip <\/a>comprising both private and public engagements. As King Charles navigates the choppy waters of a US visit <\/a>in the same month, the couple will no doubt be hoping for an easier ride, banking on being able to recreate their triumphant tour in 2018. Unfortunately, they may be sorely mistaken.<\/p>\n

The political and personal landscape around the couple has shifted significantly in the past eight years, and the turbulence around Harry and Meghan, as well as the monarchy in general, shows no sign of abating.<\/p>\n

What a different atmosphere it was eight years ago. Expecting their first child, they touched down in Sydney to the sunny embrace of an ecstatic crowd. \u201cTheir first tour was such a joyous, lovely time for them; the adoration was off the charts and they seemed so unaffected,\u201d says Mick Carroll, editor-in-chief of news.com.au<\/a>. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to predict what the reception will be this time. There\u2019s definitely still a high level of fascination for them, although all the comments have been pretty negative.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for the Sussexes said they will visit Sydney and Melbourne \u201cto take part in a number of private, business and philanthropic engagements\u201d. <\/p>\n

The couple will not be accompanied by their children, Archie, six, and Lilibet, four, but will no doubt want to be home in time for Archie\u2019s seventh birthday on 6 May.<\/p>\n

Meghan is said to be exploring opportunities to expand her As Ever lifestyle brand into Australia after announcing she has ended her agreement with Netflix. It has been confirmed that she will attend the three-day retreat hosted by Her Best Life podcast<\/a> at the InterContinental Sydney<\/a> Coogee Beach from 17 April, which the organisers describe as \u201ca girls\u2019 weekend like no other\u201d. Invitees are promised several days by the ocean for discussions, wellness sessions, and social gatherings designed to bring women together for what the organisers describe as \u201cpowerful conversations, relaxation, laughter, and unforgettable experiences\u201d.<\/p>\n

The early bird tickets to the event are set at AU$2,699 (\u00a31,440) per person and will be hosted by radio personality Jackie \u201cO\u201d Henderson, who is currently embroiled in her own highly public work contract battle, having dramatically split with her controversial co-star Kyle Sandilands.<\/p>\n

Harry, meanwhile, will be living his best authentic life by focusing on Australia\u2019s armed forces and the Invictus Games. He spent a month on secondment with the Australian Army in Darwin in 2015, so it will feel familiar as well as aligned with his passions and values.<\/p>\n

When the couple first visited, the newlyweds baked banana bread for drought-hit farmers and walked barefoot on Bondi Beach. Peter Cosgrove, then the governor general, described Harry as \u201calmost a son of Australia\u201d and, writing at the time for Sydney\u2019s The Sunday Telegraph, this royal reporter likened the couple to \u201cHRH superheroes\u201d bringing \u201cjoy to an increasingly negative world\u201d.<\/p>\n

But, on the other side of the planet, a different story was playing out. Harry said the success of the tour was the start of the schism with his family, because Meghan shone too brightly. \u201cIt was the first time the family got to see how incredible she was at the job,\u201d he told Oprah Winfrey in 2021. The problem was, he said, she was too big a star, just like Diana before her. \u201cAll across Australia \u2026 she dazzled. She was so brilliant that midway through the tour I felt compelled \u2026 to warn her,\u201d he wrote in his autobiography, Spare. \u201c\u2018You\u2019re doing too well, my love. You\u2019re making it look too easy. This is how everything started \u2026 with my mother.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex on their first trip to Australia when Meghan was pregnant with Archie (PA Archive)<\/p>\n

While the duo did dazzle, when they got home, reports began to emerge that behind the scenes, all was not well. Meghan reportedly told staffers: \u201cI can\u2019t believe I\u2019m not getting paid for this,\u201d according to Valentine Low in his book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown. The former Times journalist revealed a sulky Harry was rude to the royal press rota on the plane, saying: \u201cThanks for coming, even though you weren\u2019t invited.\u201d<\/p>\n

This visit will be \u201cvery different,\u201d says Low, who accompanied the couple in 2018. \u201cThere is nothing Australians dislike more than a whingeing Pom, and Harry has become a world-class whinger, so he might be less popular than he was,\u201d he says. However, he does concede the Sussexes have \u201ca certain celebrity gloss\u201d that can delight those who see the rest of the royal family as \u201cstuffy and outdated\u201d.<\/p>\n

While the jury is out on what their reception will be, commentators agree it is going to be a \u201cfascinating visit\u201d. And not always for the right reasons.<\/p>\n

Coming on the back of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor<\/a>\u2019s arrest, younger Australians, like younger Britons, are questioning the relevance of the monarchy, says Carroll. \u201cThe republican feeling is as potent as it\u2019s ever been, particularly with millennials and Gen Z, whose patience for the monarchy is very thin,\u201d he says. \u201cBut Andrew is bearing the brunt of people\u2019s disdain. The younger royals come with a certain level of show business, so there\u2019s a general fascination, whether you like them or not.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, that show business will not be enough to stop the call for a republic, according to the Australian Republic Movement. \u201cThe recent news around Andrew and the line of succession has been a reality check for many Australians,\u201d says co-chair Nathan Hansford. \u201cIt has reminded people that those who can become king or queen of Australia are not chosen by Australians and are not accountable to Australians.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

The anti-monarchy feeling is rising here and abroad (POOL\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

While Harry and Meghan might be hoping to cash in on some of the anti-royal sentiment, it might come as a shock for them to find that their stock is at an all-time low in Australia, as it is in the UK. In January, Meghan recorded her lowest-ever popularity rating at 19 per cent, according to a YouGov poll, second only to Mounbatten-Windsor. In Australia in 2023, a nine.com.au<\/a> survey polled readers on the royals they\u2019d like to see visit. Harry and Meghan scored just six per cent, compared to William and Catherine\u2019s 45 per cent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s still a lot of affection for William and Catherine, particularly their children,\u201d says Carroll, who doesn\u2019t doubt Harry and Meghan will be met with interest but thinks it will be mixed and far from the royal fever they experienced in the past. \u201cAustralians are likely to be courteous to Harry and Meghan as individuals, but that is separate from a growing sense that Australia should have its own head of state,\u201d says Hansford.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

open image in gallery<\/p>\n

The Princess of Wales and Prince William arrive to attend the annual Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey this week (Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)<\/p>\n

As the royal family put on the biggest show of unity since the arrest of Mounbatten-Windsor, to mark the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey this week, they were met with a barrage of anti-monarchy protests. As they arrived, King Charles, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Kate, the Princess of Wales, were loudly heckled with chants of \u201cCharles, what do you know?\u201d by protesters waving yellow placards. <\/p>\n

The fact that Harry and Meghan have chosen Australia for their royal tour will have raised eyebrows at Buckingham Palace, and the timing of it even more so. Considering the King\u2019s historic visit to the US is also planned for April, it will no doubt add to the list of headaches surrounding it. King Charles\u2019s carefully planned diplomatic visit is already facing several tripwires, including calls from Jeffrey Epstein\u2019s victims for Mounbatten-Windsor to testify, a tempestuous President Trump, who has fallen out with the UK prime minister, and demands for an American boycott. Harry and Meghan\u2019s tour now risks eclipsing any good royal news to come from the King\u2019s tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cHarry\u2019s visit to Australia will undoubtedly annoy the palace, because the one thing they don\u2019t like is anyone stealing the King\u2019s thunder,\u201d says Low. \u201cThey go out of their way to try to avoid diary clashes, and the King\u2019s team have in the past got decidedly cross when other members of the royal family have dominated the headlines on a day when Charles was hoping for a clear run.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, he thinks the royal family is now getting used to Harry and Meghan\u2019s faux-royal tours. \u201cI think their reaction will be one of weary resignation rather than outright fury: they have seen this sort of thing too many times before. They are used to it,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

And while Harry and Meghan threaten to overshadow Charles and Camilla, another king and queen could eclipse them. King Frederik and Queen Mary of Denmark begin a state visit to Australia on Saturday. And as the Tasmania-born Mary is Australia\u2019s \u201cown queen\u201d, Harry and Meghan might have met their royal match.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It was announced on Sunday that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will return to Australia next month…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":471305,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-471304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=471304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/471304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/471305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=471304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=471304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=471304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}