brisbane, australia —
The last time Australia welcomed the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, they were the new faces of the royal family, ready to follow a path set by decades of tradition.
There was no royal walkabout this time, but it was a part-celebrity, part-philanthropy tour that combined quasi-royal official events with private commercial events.
Harry and Meghan’s trip to Australia, where their father is still the monarch, is always going to be controversial, given their deliberate attempt to distance themselves from their families while retaining some vestiges of their royal status.
Even before they arrived, some complained about the cost to taxpayers of police security and attempts to use the couple’s title to use Australians “as ATMs”, as one newspaper column put it.
But for all the headlines about their money-making exploits, it’s unclear how much cash they’ll make on a self-funded tour that includes many unpaid appearances.
A spokesperson told CNN that Prince Harry received no compensation for speaking at Thursday’s InterEdge Summit. Sources also say rumors that Meghan was paid a large sum of money for her surprise appearance on MasterChef Australia are also false.
Reports suggest that the pair may be laying the groundwork for a possible expansion of Meghan’s lifestyle brand As Ever into Australia, but this had not been confirmed at the time of writing.
Australia’s relationship with Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan
The couple last arrived in Australia in 2018 for their official tour as royal newlyweds, whose wedding was watched by millions around the world and boosted sales for Australian women’s magazines that year.
Less than two years later, the couple announced their departure from the royal family, but interest in the couple remained high, with mostly negative headlines from Prince Harry’s long-time nemesis Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloids making their way to News Corp’s massive Australian masthead.
As a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, Australia has direct links to the British Royal Family, with King Charles as head of state.
Although rumors of a republic are not far off, a survey conducted at the end of the King’s last visit to Australia in 2024 showed that most Australians want the status quo to remain.
Although Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s popularity had waned in Australia by then, local media coverage of the latest tour suggests there is a lot of interest, whether you like it or not.
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan’s arrival in Melbourne on Tuesday on a commercial Qantas flight made local breakfast news with live coverage from journalists who stopped passengers to comment on the famous couple.
“They were very friendly around the toilets,” said one passenger.
Australian media has been closely following the trip, covering Meghan’s comments about bullying and Prince Harry’s thoughts as a parent.
“Every day for 10 years, I was bullied and attacked, and I was the most trolled person in the whole world,” Meghan told students at an event for mental health group Batil at Melbourne’s Swinburne University of Technology on Thursday.
‘I’ve been bullied and attacked every day for 10 years’: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex
At the event, Prince Harry also reflected on the challenges of royal life so far.
“I don’t want this job. I don’t want this role. Wherever this is going, I don’t like it,” he said, speaking at the InterEdge Summit, recalling how he felt as a teenager. “It killed my mother, and I was very against it.
“Eventually, I realized, well, wait a minute, if there were other people in this position, how would they best utilize this platform, this ability, and the resources that come with it to make a difference in the world?”
Prince Harry says he didn’t want the job after his mother’s death
Most of this week’s negative headlines have been about private involvement with large entry fees, but it’s unclear how much money, if any, will be brought back to California.
Proceeds from ticket sales for the InterEdge Summit, ranging from almost A$1,000 ($720) to more than double that amount, will be used to support Lifeline Narum, the Victorian branch of the national charity that runs a 24-hour crisis support and suicide prevention hotline, a spokesperson said.
There were also questions about how much Meghan would benefit financially from attending the “Her Best Life” retreat at the InterContinental Hotel.
The event, which was marketed as an “intimate luxury weekend”, was hosted by podcaster Gemma O’Neill, who told listeners last month that Meghan had virtually turned up to mutual friend Marcus Anderson “as a favor”. Marie Claire newspaper described him as Meghan’s “long-time confidant”.
As of Wednesday, tickets were still available for the exclusive event, which includes two nights’ accommodation, a gala dinner with free-flowing drinks, two breakfasts, one lunch, a Saturday night disco, yoga, sound healing, a talk on mediation and representation, and of course a chat and group photo with Meghan Markle, priced up to A$3,199 ($2,283).
O’Neill told listeners that she worked hard to keep the prices the same as the last retreat she hosted. Duchess Kate did not respond to CNN’s request for comment, but sources suggested the compensation paid to the duchess was in nominal terms.
In a price-sensitive economic climate, with Australians being warned that fuel shortages linked to the US and Israel’s war on Iran could push up inflation and interest rates, the idea of people spending thousands of dollars on a weekend getaway may have struck a nerve.
But this is Sydney, one of the most expensive property markets in the world. Some people can afford to drop thousands of dollars for a luxurious weekend.
It is clear that the Duke and Duchess need to generate new sources of income to support their lifestyle as former royals. (Meghan’s partnership with Netflix for her show “With Love, Meghan Markle” ended last month.)
But to sell anything you need a willing buyer, and so far this tour has shown that Harry and Meghan still have fans in Australia, whether they are current royals or not.
Their four-day tour ends Friday.
