Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s planned return to Australia is already attracting scrutiny, with a royal insider claiming the visit is less about charity or public service and more about testing a new commercial frontier.
Speaking on The Nerve podcast, commentator Rob Shuter suggested the Duke and Duchess of Sussex may be using the trip to gauge whether Australia could become a viable market for their post-royal brand.
“They think that this is their opportunity to turn up and really exploit what’s going on with the family and Andrew. They can separate themselves. It’s not a royal tour. They’re there as private citizens,” Shuter said.
Host Maureen Callahan pushed back on the framing.
“Oh, come on, though. They’re pretending it’s a royal tour.”
Shuter doubled down, arguing the visit is designed as a kind of global trial run.
“They will try to be met by dignitaries, heads of state. Everyone I’ve spoken to said that the itinerary, which has been put together, is really a show-and-tell. They’re going to test the waters. They’re going to see if this could be a market for them. And if it works, we’ll see them try this out in different markets now around the world.”
He added that Australia remains one of the few places where the pair still enjoy a degree of goodwill.
“There is some support for them in Australia. The last time they were there, in 2018, was a sensation. This was when they were at the peak of their powers. It was before it got all so ugly. So they have figured out, it took them a minute, that America hasn’t worked for them. So they’re going to try another country.”
Rob Shuter. Source: Supplied
A return built around events
The renewed attention comes as both Prince Harry and Markle have separately confirmed appearances in Australia tied to commercial and leadership events.
Markle will travel to Sydney later this year as the headline guest at a luxury wellness retreat hosted by Gemma O’Neill, best friend of Australian radio star Jackie ‘O’ Henderson.
The event forms part of O’Neill’s ‘Her Best Life’ retreat at the InterContinental Sydney Coogee Beach, where Markle will take part in a live conversation during a gala dinner.
Organisers describe the weekend as “an intimate luxury weekend by the ocean designed to bring women together for powerful conversations, relaxation, laughter and unforgettable experiences.”
According to promotional material, the highlight will be an in-person conversation and gala dinner with Markle, framed as an “intimate gala like no other.”
Harry’s Melbourne appearance
Meanwhile, Prince Harry is set to appear in Melbourne, where he will headline the inaugural InterEdge Psychosocial Safety Summit.
The two-day event, running from 15 to 16 April, is positioned as a national discussion around workplace mental health, leadership and psychosocial safety, supporting Lifeline Narrm.
Organisers say the summit will bring together policymakers, business leaders and workplace experts to explore strategies for tackling burnout, psychological injury and employee wellbeing.
Memories of the 2018 tour
The couple’s last visit to Australia in 2018, during their first year of marriage, drew huge crowds and wall-to-wall media coverage.
But the visit has also become the subject of lingering rumours and criticism – something Callahan referenced during the podcast discussion.
“Weren’t there reports that, on the initial Australia trip, Meghan said to a courtier, I can’t believe I’m not getting paid for this?” she asked.
“And then aren’t there reports also, never substantiated, but allegedly, reportedly very stubborn reports that in a most displeased moment, Meghan threw a cup of hot tea on an underling because it was not to her liking?”
Shuter replied with his own account.
“I heard she hissed at an underling, too. She turned up, and she bought into her own celebrity. A billion people had just watched her wedding. I’m not defending her. But she turned up there like she was Princess Diana. She’s not.”
Unlike their 2018 appearance, the upcoming trip carries none of the formal trappings of a royal tour.
Whether Australia becomes the next testing ground for that strategy remains to be seen.
Main image: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.