Sussexes' Australia return blends charity stops with ticketed events, drawing scrutiny

Prince Harry and Meghan have returned to Australia for the first time since 2018, travelling under their titles of Duke and Duchess of Sussex for a program that mixes community visits with two major ticketed events. Although this is not an official royal tour, the schedule bears a strong resemblance to one.

The pair retain the right to use their titles despite distancing themselves from the British royal family. Their last visit, in 2018, came just after they announced they were expecting their first child. The visit begins today at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital, followed by a visit by the duchess to a women's homeless and family violence shelter and an evening event with families of war veterans.

Tomorrow, Harry is due at a Movember event at Melbourne's Whitten Oval with players from the Western Bulldogs AFL team, before flying to Canberra for events at the Australian War Memorial, where he will meet Indigenous veterans and attend a Last Post ceremony.

On Thursday, the couple will be back in Melbourne for Indigenous and mental health events. They are then scheduled to travel to Sydney on Friday to promote Invictus Australia, the veterans' charity founded by Harry. A notable difference from a standard royal tour is the commercial element.

According to a media statement issued ahead of their arrival, the program "will focus on mental health, community resilience, and support for veterans and their families, alongside private meetings and special projects." Those private components include two ticketed events: Harry will deliver a speech at a conference in Melbourne on Thursday, while Meghan is the headline guest at a luxury wellness event at Coogee Beach in Sydney next weekend.

Tickets for Meghan's event — billed as "a girls' weekend like no other" with a gala dinner, yoga, meditation and "sound healing" — range from $2,699 to $3,199.

The media statement said the private events were included "to support broader commercial, charitable, and community objectives" and were "separate from the core programme of public-facing visits." It added that the program is rooted in the couple's long-standing areas of work and prioritises "listening, learning and supporting communities rather than promotion." Giselle Bastin, a royal expert from Flinders University, described the commercial aspect of the tour as "unusual" and said the royals would not be impressed that the Sussexes were "monetising their visit to Australia." The couple's day-to-day schedule differs considerably from their official royal tour seven years ago, but organisers say the focus remains on mental health, community resilience and support for veterans and their families.

Their appearances in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney will set the tone for how their post-royal public work is received in Australia.