Prince William Sends Message to Australia After Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Announce Trip There

The Prince of Wales spoke in his post as Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Navy Submarine Service

Prince William sent a special message to Australia after Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced their trip there.

The Prince of Wales, 43, commemorated the 125th anniversary of the Royal Navy Submarine Service and the Royal Australian Navy in a video shared to X by the Ministry of Defence on Wednesday, March 11.

“As HMS Anson visits Australia, I would like to wish a very happy 125th birthday to both the Royal Navy Submarine Service and the Australian Navy,” Prince William began in the clip, filmed with a go-to corner of Windsor Castle as the backdrop.

“Today, we remember the generations of service personnel who served in support of the United Kingdom, Australia and our Commonwealth partners in both World Wars, and in the decades since, and we thank those who continue their spirit of service today,” he continued, in part.

Prince William, who is Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Navy Submarine Service, shouted out the AUKUS program, a historic security collaboration between the U.K., Australia and U.S.

The heir to the throne called the trilateral partnership “a testament to this enduring relationship and we look forward to the next 125 years of collaboration.”

The Prince of Wales sent well-wishes to the Royal Australian Navy a few days after his brother and sister-in-law announced that they would visit Australia in April. Prince William and Prince Harry, 41, remain estranged amid a familial feud that exploded into public view when Harry and Meghan departed their royal roles in the U.K. in 2020.

On March 8, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said in a statement to PEOPLE, “Prince Harry and Meghan, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, will visit Australia in mid-April to take part in a number of private, business, and philanthropic engagements. Further details will be shared in due course.”

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry during a visit to the QuestScope Youth Center at the Za’atari refugee camp, home to displaced Syrians, near Mafraq in northern Jordan, on Feb. 25, 2026.

It has since been revealed that Meghan, 44, will headline Her Best Life retreat hosted by Her Best Life podcast, touted as “a girls’ weekend like no other,” in Sydney. Meanwhile, a solo event for Harry has also been announced, with the Duke of Sussex slated as a keynote speaker for the InterEdge Psychosocial Safety Summit in Melbourne.

The upcoming trip brings the couple back to the country for the first time since October 2018, which marked their first major royal tour as a married couple. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also announced Meghan’s pregnancy with their first child, son Prince Archie, 6, just before the trip began.

The couple’s two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, 4, will not be joining them in Australia in April and did not join their parents in Jordan in February, when Harry and Meghan undertook a two-day humanitarian trip.