Obviously, the British media and the British royals have spent the past four weeks in a blind, hysterical panic over the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s visit to Australia. They’ve attacked Meghan’s appearance at a women’s retreat, they’ve done an emotional-support petition and they even got Sophie Chandauka to “sue” Harry right before the trip. All of that chaos and drama, and for what? For all of it to fall like water off a duck’s ass. Even the Sun decided to go in a different route – now they’re claiming that if all goes well for Harry and Meghan, this Oz trip will mean something somewhere for a possible Sussex royal tour in the UK.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s tour of Australia this week is set to be the blueprint for a return trip to Britain. The Sussexes are spending four days Down Under for the first time since Megxit in 2020, drawing comparisons to their official tour as working royals eight years ago.
Insiders say the trip to Oz — where the King is head of state and royal news makes headlines — will be a dummy run and testing ground for a potential joint tour of the UK. Meghan has not set foot in Britain since she attended the late Queen’s funeral nearly four years ago, while Harry has said he will not return with his family until they get 24-hour taxpayer-funded armed security.
The Sussexes are waiting for the outcome of a security review which could see the Met Police forced to provide armed guards. If the couple succeed, Meghan could return this summer with Harry for a 12-month countdown to the Invictus Games — or attend the tournament itself in Birmingham in July next year.
It is understood that insiders will be closely watching the reaction that the couple receive in Australia from royal fans and even republicans.
A source said: “It is a significant joint tour and could prove to be a blueprint for future tours together of this type.”
Details of the trip are yet to come but it is understood they will carry out “private, business and philanthropic” engagements, visiting Sydney and Canberra. Both have paid speaking engagements during the tour.
The success of the trip, which begins on Tuesday, is to be measured against their blockbuster 2018 visit, which took place at the height of their popularity just months after their wedding, while they were still working royals.
In a 1999 referendum, Australia rejected the chance to oust the royals and become a republic, and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has shelved plans for another vote. In October 2024, tens of thousands turned out to see the King and Queen’s successful tour of Sydney and Canberra. Mr Albanese has invited William and Kate on an official trip, but it is understood there are no plans for it this year.
This has been happening for years and it cracks me up every time – there’s all of that hootin’ and hollerin’ about how Harry and Meghan are being shunned and they’re not real royals and why are they even traveling or going out in public without Prince William’s permission, and then the stories always morph into “but they’re still treated like royalty, and still judged by royal standards, and the palace is watching this royal tour very closely!” The same thing happened with all of the Invictus Games trips, and the visits to Nigeria and Colombia. While I know that the Sussexes would always garner this kind of attention no matter what, it’s shocking that no one will point out that Harry & Meghan continue to be obsessed over to this degree because William and Kate are so f–king lazy and boring.
Meanwhile, remember how the Mail and other outlets published details of the Sussexes’ Oz plans last week? Turns out, those outlets broke an embargo and now the Sussexes aren’t going to share any more information with the press about their trip.
For the last few years, since Prince Harry & Meghan’s legal battle with the Daily Mail, there has been a real effort by DM editorial to complicate any security arrangements the Sussexes make in advance. An embargo is sacred in the media, so breaking it was petulant and a message pic.twitter.com/vUubMBjQQR
— Nico Mac (@Nicomac_666) April 13, 2026
Photos courtesy of Instar, Cover Images.
