The Duchess of Sussex receives flowers and a card from a young patient during a visit to the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne, Victoria, on day one of the royal trip to Australia. Picture date: Tuesday April 14, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Jonathan Brady/PA Wire (Image: PA)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle received a polarised reception upon arriving in Australia to commence their tour, with some Australians labelling the couple ‘irrelevant’, while others welcomed them with enthusiasm.
Despite an exceptionally warm reception at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, a body language specialist has described the Sussexes’ physical demeanour as ‘inappropriate’.
Harry and Meghan interacted with children and posed for photographs with patients, as they were applauded by substantial crowds assembled along the hospital walkways.
However, remarking on the couple’s engagement at the hospital, Dr Louise Mahler, body language expert, said: “The domestic Goddess act does not cut it with me.”
The duo were photographed entering the hospital foyer to considerable crowds, with Meghan clutching onto Harry, as patients and their parents insisted the visit brought a much-needed ‘smile’ to their faces.
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TOPSHOT – Britain’s Prince Harry (L), Duke of Sussex, and his wife Meghan (R), the Duchess of Sussex, meet people at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne on April 14, 2026. (Photo by William WEST / AFP via Getty Images) (Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Commenting on the pair’s arrival, the expert added: “Megan grabs hold of Harry’s upper arm and hangs on like a tiny helpless waif, reaching out shyly with half an arm to greet others, like a retiring introvert overcome by adoration.
“Together they both crouch down for small children, embracing and showing warmth before going off to pick and sniff plants in the garden together in a natural healing ceremony.”
This stands in sharp contrast to the feedback the pair received from hospital staff, who characterised the visit as ‘genuinely meaningful’ for patients there. Alongside meeting children battling chronic illnesses, the Duke and Duchess participated in a group activity within one of the hospital’s gardens.
“It was a genuinely meaningful visit for our staff and for the young people receiving care,” said the hospital’s chief executive, Dr Peter Steer.
However, Mahler added: “I don’t want to take away from the joy this may bring to deserving participants, but there is something dreadfully and shockingly incongruent here.
Prince Harry and Meghan’s trip have been shrouded in controversy (Image: Getty)
“The physical appearance we see bears no scar of the family conflict, staff distress and financial and business turmoil we know exists.
“Even the glaringly omnipresent effect of jetlag is not present after a 16-hour flight back in time. None of it shows and somehow that makes it alarmingly unreal, divisive and for me, repulsive.”
Following the pair’s first stop at the hospital, which has welcomed numerous royals over the years, Meghan served lunch to women at a local refuge.
US body language expert Dr Lillian Glass further suggested that Meghan’s interaction with women at McAuley Houses appeared “phony”.
Dr Glass said: “Meghan’s body language is most revealing.
“She’s got a plastered-on phoney smile when feeding the homeless.
“She appears to be elated that she is back in the public eye with a crowd of people looking at her, even though they were practically all children who had no clue who she was or why she was there.” Photographs from the afternoon captured the former Suits actress wearing an apron while serving food, before taking a seat alongside the women.
Dr Glass added: “Her continuous open mouth, inappropriate laughter, and over-the-top smiles are both unnerving and disturbing.
“Since it has been a while and since their only audience are the homeless who couldn’t care less about Meghan or Harry but rather on their daily survival, and very ill children who would be better off remaining in their hospital beds instead of being used as photo op pawns and being subjected to the falseness of these two really caring about them.
“They would never get this attention in California or anywhere else in the US as they are so disliked and seen as gifters and disaster tourists sowing up in situations they have no business sowing up at, like the Malibu fire in LA, school shootings in Texas, etc.”