Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s tour of Australia shows the couple got what they wanted from a Megxit deal with the late Queen by the “backdoor”, it has been claimed. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are on the second day of their visit Down Under, which sees the couple appear in Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra.
On the first day of their tour, Harry and Meghan visited the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, where they hugged patients, posed for photos and were cheered by large crowds of admirers. Day two of their trip saw the Duke take part in a service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra and a charity event at a football stadium.
Harry and Meghan’s appearances have led some royal watchers to claim the pair have embarked on another “quasi-royal” tour, despite their having stepped back from royal duties in 2020.
In January of that year, the late Queen Elizabeth II struck a deal with the Sussexes, which saw them walk away from royal life, despite their wish to carry out some royal duties while pursuing their own commercial work.
Harry’s grandmother rejected that idea, but to some critics, their current tour of Australia suggests they got what they wanted – acting like royals while cutting money-making deals of their own.
Celebrities who are verified on the site can earn revenue each time someone buys an item. Meghan is reported to have been motivated to invest in the platform to “expand her portfolio” and “uplift” the designers she likes.
The Duke and Duchess’s office has insisted the couple’s Australia tour reflects their “shared commitment” to service and building resilient communities.
Their tour led the Daily Mail’s Royal Editor, Rebecca English, to ask in an op-ed if Harry and Meghan have managed to get the “half in, half out” deal they wanted “by the back door”.
She wrote that there is “irritation” in royal circles about the Sussexes keeping their titles, but the Palace needs to “roll with the punches” to “keep moving forwards”.
Another source, described as “well-placed”, told English the Sussexes’ Australia tour was counter to the late Queen’s wishes.
They said: “While I am not going to speculate on what Her Late Majesty would have thought about all this, I can tell you with utmost certainty that this is exactly what she tried to ensure wouldn’t happen.”