Harry and Meghan are due to travel to Australia this month – a source has said the trip could be a ‘blueprint’ for the Sussexes to use as a possible joint trip to the UK
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex could consider a return to the UK if their trip to Australia is a success, an insider has claimed.
Harry and Meghan are due to travel to Australia this month, eight years on from a royal tour Down Under. Five months after their wedding, the glowing couple arrived in the country and announced Meghan was pregnant with son Archie.
The tour this year has drawn comparisons, but they will not be there as working royals following their fallout with The Firm. An insider told the Sun that the trip is a test case for a potential joint tour in the UK.
Harry has previously said he will not come back to the UK without 24-hour security funded by the taxpayer. Meghan hasn’t set foot in the UK since the late Queen’s funeral in 2022.
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A security review is weighing up if the Met Police will be forced to provide armed guards. This could mean Harry and Meghan return to the UK for an event one year before the start of the Invictus Games in Birmingham. Or, they could attend the event itself the following year.
“It is a significant joint tour and could prove to be a blueprint for future tours together of this type,” the source said.
Of the trip, a spokesman for the couple said: “Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, will visit Australia to take part in a number of private, business and philanthropic engagements.”
Meghan will be the star attraction at a women-only event in Sydney, while Harry will address a mental health conference in Melbourne.
It is understood Harry and Meghan’s children will not be joining them Down Under.
Australian taxpayers are expected to foot the bill of some of the police operations during the tour, as the Sussexes visit, Canberra, Melbourne and Sydney.
In March, 35,000 people signed a petition demanding that no taxpayer cash be spent on the visit.
A Sussex spokesperson reported by the Mail pointed towards how many Australians had not signed up and that the trip would be privately funded.
“It’s a moot point,” he said. “The trip is being funded privately, so I’m not sure what this petition hopes to achieve.”
The New South Wales Police Force spokesperson said it will “conduct an operation to ensure public safety is maintained during the visit by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex”.
The spokesperson said: “The operation will require some additional security measures throughout their stay in New South Wales, while minimising any disruption to the community.”
An insider previously revealed to the Mirror exactly why they are making the visit, hitting back at the criticism and “misinformation” surrounding the couple’s trip.
Someone who knows the couple said: “There is a lot of misinformation being spread about this trip – all designed to whip up hate. The truth is you have a couple heading down under for work. While they’re in town, they’re going to check-in on some charitable causes that they have long supported and – in the Duke’s case with the Invictus Games – he set-up.
“The couple are critically aware that by just visiting a charity, they can help shine a light on its work – bringing media attention that wouldn’t otherwise exist. They don’t have to do that,” the source continues.
“They could just as easily get paid and head straight back to California. It’s an irrational reaction to s***-can a couple who just want to support some the charitable causes close to them. God forbid they try to do any good in a world that could, frankly, use a little more Harry and Meghan, and a little less sniping from ‘Royal Commentators’ who make a living by proving hate bait for anyone willing to platform them. It’s sad. What a way to make a living.”
