Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have responded to backlash from critics over their upcoming Australian tour.
The couple are making their first visit Down Under in eight years, and are due to touch down on Tuesday, April 14, for four days of engagements.
However, the trip hasn’t come without its obstacles, as a petition opposing their visit began to circulate to block public funding for the tour.
At the time, Harry and Meghan’s representatives firmly denied that taxpayers would be paying for the trip, and now, New Idea understands that they’ve doubled down.
An insider close to the couple tells us that the trip is being entirely “privately funded” as they responded to other misconceptions surrounding the visit.
Hitting back at claims that it’s a “publicity tour”, our source insists that the trip is expanding on already existing areas of work for the couple and isn’t about “promotion”.
As for whether it’s the same as an official royal tour? No, it isn’t.
“This is the same as their other foreign visits they have conducted over the last six years,” our insider adds.
There will be select private events during the visit, such as Meghan’s appearance at the Her Best Life Retreat, but New Idea understands that these will be separate from the core public-facing events schedule and will support “commercial, charitable, and community objectives”.
Who is paying for Harry and Meghan’s trip to Australia?
Harry and Meghan came under fire when a petition circulated calling to block public funding for their Australia tour.
The petition, titled “No Taxpayer-Funding or Official Support for Harry & Meghan’s Private Visit to Australia”, has garnered more than 45,000 signatures.
However, Harry and Meghan’s representatives were quick to slam the “ridiculous” petition, insisting there was no truth to it, as the trip will be privately funded.
“It’s a moot point. The trip is being funded privately, so I’m not sure what this petition hopes to achieve,” a spokesperson for the couple told the Daily Mail at the time.
When is Harry and Meghan’s Australian tour?
The couple is due to arrive in Australia on Tuesday, April 14, for four days of public engagements.
Their joint engagements across Sydney and Melbourne will conclude on Friday, April 17, and are expected to include visits to hospitals, homeless shelters, and charities.
Meghan will then remain in Sydney from April 17-19 to appear as a guest at Jackie O Henderson and Gemma O’Neill’s Her Best Life Retreat.
She will speak at an in-conversation event and attend a gala dinner at the InterContinental Hotel at Coogee Beach.
Tickets cost $2699, with the VIP experience being priced at $3199 per person.
Meghan and Harry will not be bringing their two children, Prince Archie, six, and Princess Lilibet, four, to Australia for the tour.
The last time they visited Australia was in 2018, when Meghan was pregnant with Archie.
Never miss a story! Sign up to New Idea’s FREE newsletter for royal news and exclusives here.
