Duke and Duchess of Sussex Complete Four-Day Private Visit to Australia

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle concluded a privately funded four-day visit to Australia from April 14 to April 17, 2026. The tour included stops in Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney, featuring charitable engagements, private meetings, and commercial events. The couple traveled from Los Angeles on a commercial flight without their children.

Arrival and Hospital Visit

Royal Children's Hospital

The visit began on April 14 in Melbourne, where the couple's first public engagement was a visit to the Royal Children's Hospital in Parkville. They spent approximately 10 minutes in the hospital foyer meeting families before touring the adolescent medicine ward and participating in a garden therapy session with patients.

During the visit:

• A four-year-old patient named Lily presented Meghan Markle with a flower and a handmade welcome sign
• Prince Harry spoke with 17-year-old patient Hamish about Australian Rules Football
• Meghan Markle told 12-year-old patient Novalie Morris, diagnosed with cancer at age five, to "keep on being brave"
• Patient Scarlett McGowan, 17, stated that Prince Harry asked about her care
• Patient Lily Batchelder made a sign welcoming the couple to Australia

The Royal Children's Hospital was previously visited by Queen Elizabeth II in 1963 and 2011, and by King Charles III and the late Princess Diana in 1985.

Women's Shelter

After the hospital visit, Meghan Markle visited a women's refuge operated by McAuley Community Services in Melbourne's west, where she served food and joined residents for lunch.

Australian National Veterans Arts Museum

The couple later visited the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum in Melbourne.

Australian Rules Football Event

On April 15, Prince Harry visited Whitten Oval in Footscray, Melbourne, for an Australian Rules football event organized in connection with Movember. Western Bulldogs AFL players Tom Liberatore, Adam Treloar, and Matthew Kennedy provided instruction on kicking and handballing techniques.

During the event:

• Prince Harry participated in a question and answer session where he discussed mental health and fatherhood
• He stated that he views children as "an upgrade" in the context of generational progress
• He described challenges balancing work and parenting, noting that his son Archie would cry when he returned from work stressed, and stated he now works from home
• He was presented with Western Bulldogs team guernseys featuring the names of his children, Archie and Lilibet
• Members of the children's music group The Wiggles attended
• Prince Harry took a football with him when leaving the venue

Movember representatives stated the event reflected Prince Harry's interest in sports and his focus on men's mental health awareness.

MasterChef Australia Appearance

On April 15, Meghan Markle made an unannounced appearance as a guest judge on the set of MasterChef Australia in Melbourne. She was greeted by judges Jean-Christophe Novelli, Poh Ling Yeow, and Sofia Levin, and stated, "I'm so happy to be here." Her appearance was not listed on the published itinerary for the tour.

Canberra Visit

On April 15, Prince Harry traveled to Canberra on a commercial Qantas flight to visit the Australian War Memorial.

Australian War Memorial

During the visit:

• He laid a wreath at the memorial
• He attended an Indigenous smoking ceremony led by Ngunnawal Gomeroi man Michael Bell
• He shook hands with several Indigenous veterans
• He paused at the For Our Country memorial, which commemorates Indigenous service members
• He spoke with memorial representatives
• He attended a Last Post ceremony
• He addressed an Invictus Australia event
• Approximately 100 members of the public gathered at the memorial grounds

Michael Bell, during a Welcome to Country, described the For Our Country memorial as "a yarning and learning circle" that encases a fire and provides "a place to commemorate." Bell stated that the memorial's uneven rock "represents the difficult journey of our men and women to get in and out of service during the historical periods of exclusion from military service by the authorities."

Mental Health Summit and Social Media Comments

On April 16, Prince Harry delivered the keynote address at the InterEdge Psychological Safety Summit in Melbourne. Ticket prices for the summit ranged from approximately $1,000 to $2,400.

Prince Harry's Speech

During his speech, Prince Harry criticized social media companies for failing to protect children from harm. He stated:

"Too many of these platforms are not designed with safety in mind. They're designed for engagement, to draw people in, to keep them there, to shape behaviour"

"If a platform is capable of targeting a child, it is surely capable of protecting them, and if it is not doing so that is not a failure of technology. It is a failure of responsibility"

He congratulated Australia for adopting new laws aimed at restricting children's access to social media.

Prince Harry also discussed his own mental health challenges, including grief following his mother Princess Diana's death in 1997. He stated:

"For me, one of the biggest shifts came when I realised that asking for help isn't a weakness; it's very much a form of strength."

Batyr Discussion

On April 16, the couple participated in a discussion organized by the mental health organization Batyr in Melbourne. During this discussion:

• Prince Harry described Australia's social media legislation for children as "epic" from "a responsibility and leadership standpoint"
• Meghan Markle stated she has been the target of online bullying for ten years, saying, "For now, 10 years, every day for 10 years, I have been bullied and attacked. And I was the most trolled person in the entire world"

Cultural and Charity Engagements

Scar Tree Walk

On April 16, the couple participated in a guided cultural experience in Melbourne focused on scar trees, which are described as living heritage sites created by the Wurundjeri people.

Batyr and InterEdge Summit

The couple visited Batyr, a mental health organization, and attended the InterEdge Summit, where Prince Harry delivered the keynote address.

Sydney Visit

On April 17, the couple traveled to Sydney for the final day of their visit.

Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club

The couple visited the Bondi Surf Bathers Life Saving Club in Sydney, where they met with survivors and first responders of the December 14 terror attack at Bondi Beach. Approximately 40 surf lifesavers who responded to the incident were present. The meeting lasted about 30 minutes.

Survivor Elon Zizer, who was shot six times during the attack, stated he was grateful to be alive and that it was "an honour to meet the Duke and Duchess."

First responder Jonathan Pott said the visit "means a lot that they've taken time out of their pretty brief visit to Australia to visit the site and meet with some of the people that were involved."

A crowd gathered outside the club, and the couple shook hands and took photographs with members of the public.

Sydney Opera House and Harbour

The couple proceeded to the Sydney Opera House, where approximately 150 people gathered. They met with veteran Joel Vanderzwan and his family, who presented them with custom footwear. They then boarded a boat and sailed on Sydney Harbour with members of Invictus Australia.

Rugby Match

The couple attended a Super Rugby match between the NSW Waratahs and Moana Pasifika at Allianz Stadium.

Additional Activities

Meghan Markle's Wellness Retreat

Meghan Markle was scheduled to headline a three-day women's retreat called "Her Best Life" at the InterContinental Sydney in Coogee. Ticket prices for the retreat ranged from $2,699 to $3,199.

Prince Harry's Summit

Prince Harry's appearance at the InterEdge Summit was a for-profit event, with some proceeds directed to the charity Lifeline. Media reports indicated he may have received a speaker's fee, though his team did not confirm this.

As Ever Brand

Meghan Markle's lifestyle brand, As Ever, has a registered trademark in Australia. Products under this brand include candles priced at $64 and gift boxes priced at $132.

Security and Funding

Private Funding

The couple's office stated the trip was privately funded. They traveled business class on a commercial Qantas Airways flight from Los Angeles.

Policing Costs

Police forces in Victoria and New South Wales confirmed they provided security operations during the visit. The New South Wales Police Force stated the operation required "some additional security measures throughout their stay in New South Wales, while minimising any disruption to the community." Victoria Police stated they "routinely assess events and visits and will deploy resources as necessary to ensure community safety."

Media reports indicated some policing costs would be paid by Australian taxpayers, rather than through a "user pays" arrangement typically used for private events.

A petition titled "No Taxpayer-Funding or Official Support for Harry & Meghan's Private Visit to Australia," launched by advocacy group Beyond Australia on Change.org, received over 43,000 signatures.

A spokesperson for the couple stated: "The trip is being funded privately, so I'm not sure what this petition hopes to achieve."

Background on Security

During their 2018 official royal tour of Australia, Australian taxpayers covered $410,580 for police protection, transport, accommodation and incidentals. The couple were stripped of publicly funded police protection in the United Kingdom in February 2020 after stepping back from royal duties. Prince Harry took legal action against the UK Home Office in 2022 regarding security access for private individuals; the High Court ruled against him in February 2024, and his appeal was denied in May 2024.

Context and Background

Previous Visit

The couple's previous visit to Australia was in 2018, when they undertook a 16-day official royal tour that also included New Zealand, Fiji, and Tonga. During that visit, Meghan Markle announced she was pregnant with their first child.

Royal Status

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down as working members of the British royal family in January 2020 and moved to the United States. They no longer use their His and Her Royal Highness titles. They stated their reasons were a desire for financial independence and to escape what they characterized as media intrusion.

Public Opinion

According to a YouGov poll from January 2026:

• 66% of British respondents held an unfavorable opinion of Meghan Markle, while 19% held a favorable opinion
• 60% held an unfavorable opinion of Prince Harry
• By contrast, during the weeks following their 2018 Australia visit, Prince Harry had a 7% negative rating

Media Commentary

Media commentator Afua Hagan stated that news media typically portray the Sussexes as "villains" and noted: "This is a privately funded trip. To pay for that, they're going to have to have some commercial interest."

Giselle Bastin, a Flinders University expert on the British royals, said the couple's use of their titles for private interests "will be perceived by many as a conflict of interest" and described the visit as "a rather desperate attempt to monetise their status as royalty."

Commercial Ventures

Since departing from royal duties, the couple has engaged in several commercial ventures, including:

• A multi-year production deal with Netflix, reported to be worth $100 million
• A podcast deal with Spotify, reported to be worth $20 million, which ended after 12 episodes
• Prince Harry's memoir Spare, published by Penguin Random House
• Meghan Markle's lifestyle brand As Ever
• The Archewell organization, which includes Archewell Philanthropies

Financial filings from 2024 showed Archewell Philanthropies had $2.6 million in revenue, down from approximately $5.2 million the previous year, and distributed approximately $1.2 million in grants.

The couple purchased a home in Montecito, California, for a reported $14.65 million.