Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, have commenced their Australian tour with a visit to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.
During their stay, the couple plans to engage with various charitable organizations and participate in several commercial events. Their itinerary also includes stops in Canberra and Sydney over the next few days.
In Melbourne, the Duke and Duchess will spend three days attending charity functions and holding “private meetings and special projects,” including a ticketed conference scheduled for Thursday.
The Royal Children’s Hospital’s foyer was filled with families eager to meet the couple. Young patients gathered in anticipation, and Prince Harry interacted warmly with numerous attendees, while Meghan took the time to embrace children amidst a flurry of camera activity.
Seventeen-year-old Scarlett McGowan, who previously met Queen Elizabeth II, described her experience as enjoyable. “Harry was very approachable,” she mentioned. “He asked about my care, and I made sure to highlight how wonderful our nurses are.” She expressed her surprise at the visit, having learned about it only that morning. “I was told I was going downstairs to meet Harry and Meghan, and I thought they were joking,” she recalled. “It was refreshing to step away from the ward for a bit.”
Another young patient, Novalie Morris, admitted she was not familiar with the couple before today but enjoyed their visit, even receiving a hug. “Meghan told me to stay brave, and I gave Harry some flowers, which made me really thankful for the chance to meet them,” she shared.
Lily Batchelder expressed her excitement about meeting royalty and even created a welcome sign for them. The couple continued their visit by touring other parts of the hospital, interacting with patients in their rooms and participating in a therapy session with adolescents.
On Wednesday, Prince Harry is scheduled to meet players from the Western Bulldogs AFL team during a Movember event, although it remains uncertain whether he will attempt to kick a football, as Queen Mary of Denmark did in a recent visit.
The Duke will briefly visit Canberra before returning to Melbourne on Thursday for events focused on Indigenous and mental health issues. This marks the first trip to Australia for the couple since 2018 and their first since they distanced themselves from royal duties.
Harry and Meghan arrived in Melbourne on Tuesday morning via a commercial flight from the United States, where they were greeted by a private vehicle upon landing.
Reactions to their visit have varied. One passenger on the flight expressed well wishes to the couple, saying, “I hope you enjoy your time in Melbourne and Sydney. We talked about their children and their stay here.” Others acknowledged Harry’s choice to travel commercially, with one passenger noting it was commendable for him to forgo private flights.
However, not all responses were positive. Opposition leader Jess Wilson criticized the decision to provide police protection for the couple, stating, “The idea that Harry and Meghan, who are here as private citizens for commercial reasons, could receive security funded by taxpayers should alarm all Victorians.”
The couple’s visit has sparked discussions in both Australia and the UK, where recent polls show only 19% and 32% of the British public view Harry and Meghan positively, respectively.
British journalist and royal commentator Afua Hagan remarked that this visit has been notably less public than their 2018 trip, suggesting it was a conscious decision. “There’s an awareness that they attract attention, and we likely won’t see them engaging in public walkabouts due to security concerns,” she explained. “It seems they wanted to avoid any appearance of a royal visit.”
