Call me Meg, Duchess of Sussex tells Australian well-wishers as her and Harry’s quasi-royal tour of Australia kicks off despite criticism of ‘unacceptable’ cost to taxpayer

Meghan Markle has told Australians to ignore her title and ‘call me Meg’ amid tensions over the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s pseudo-royal tour Down Under.

The Sussexes’ own aides also reassured staff at Melbourne’s children’s hospital that the couple are laid back about how they are addressed, declaring: ‘Harry and Meghan is fine. They’re pretty relaxed.’

It came as the couple were accused of using their royal links to cash in on Australia and after Meghan scolded a friend on her Netflix cookery show when she called her Markle, not Sussex.

Today Harry and Meghan looked thrilled as they received cheers and applause on a trip to meet young cancer patients in Australia’s second city.

They spent almost 45 minutes chatting to children and their parents in the atrium and on a ward.

Meghan then went solo as she served frittata at a women’s refuge wearing £1,100 heart earrings, Princess Diana‘s Cartier watch and a Tiffany gold bracelet before the couple reunited for a family craft session at the National Veterans Arts Museum.

As they arrived, Australia’s first poet laureate for veterans, Steve Cotterill, asked them: ‘How would you like me to address you?’

Harry shrugged with a smile and said: ‘However you like’ before his wife said: ‘Call me Meg?’

The couple landed from LA early on Tuesday and their itinerary this week will include charity and business events in Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney.

It is not known how much Prince Harry and Meghan are being paid for their commercial appearances, although the Duchess’s fee for going to a girls’ weekend beach retreat is apparently in the region of $250,000. Although the hotel event has failed to sell out, the Daily Mail can reveal.

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The Duchess of Sussex excitedly waved to people who were above them in the hospital atrium where the couple insisted on being called Meghan and Harry

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Harry and Meghan greet crowds during their visit to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne

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Harry and Meghan spent 45 minutes meeting children, parents and staff

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During their visit to the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum (pictured), Meghan had told a poet: ‘Call me Meg’

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been accused of using Australia ‘like an ATM’ on a quasi-royal tour that some Down Under insist is all about ‘making money’ and ‘self-promotion’.

Prince Harry and Meghan said they were delighted to be in the country as they landed in Melbourne today on a business class flight from Los Angeles without Lilibet and Archie.

But one woman who was on board the Qantas flight said of the duchess: ‘I don’t like her at all. Don’t come to Australia. You don’t belong here. We don’t want you here.’

And amid a row over how their security is being paid for, Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson said: ‘Victoria Police are there to provide security and safety for Victorians. So any suggestion that officers are going to be pulled off duty to provide security and protection for Harry and Meghan’s visit is absolutely unacceptable.’

Libertarian MP David Limbrick said: ‘If people want to spend thousands of dollars on former royals, that’s fine. But Victorian taxpayers should not be on the hook to provide the security of millionaires.’

Australian business leader Hilary Fordwich declared that ‘hypocritical Harry and Me-again Meghan’ were using their royal links ‘to make money’ for themselves.

She told Sky News that while the couple claim the visit is ‘private’, she believes it is ‘to fund that 16-bedroom house they have in Montecito.’

As they arrived Harry was asked if he had a message for Australia and said: ‘It’s wonderful. It’s great to be back. Thanks for having us back.’

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Harry and Meghan pose for a selfie with patients at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne on the first day of their Australian visit

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The Duchess knelt as she was handed flowers by a young patient who had also made her a card

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Meghan served lunch at a women’s refuge in Melbourne following the hospital visit

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Harry said it was ‘great’ to be in Australia, adding: ‘Thanks for having us back’

But it appears not all are pleased to see them for the first time since 2018, when they were in the country for a nine-day official royal tour just after their wedding.

Andrew Bridge said today: ‘I wasn’t aware they were coming at all. They are very much about self-promotion. They would probably be my least favourite royals, let’s put it that way. They need to more for the public and finish this feud with their family, which to be honest is becoming pretty boring’.

Another Melbourne local said when asked if he would try to see them: ‘No, only to boo.’

A large crowd gathered at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne for Harry and Meghan’s first official event today. But one parent there told the Daily Mail: ‘I didn’t even know they were coming, so I would wonder why they are actually here.’

The four-day trip will also see Harry and Meghan attend an Invictus Australia event in Sydney before Meghan stars at the ‘Her Best Life’ retreat at nearby Coogee Beach.

Tickets for the weekend cost up to $3,199 AUD (£1,400) and include a chance to have a photo with the Duchess and ask her questions at a gala dinner in a five-star hotel. Meghan’s fee has been described as a ‘fat one’, and is apparently in the region of $250,000.

Harry is the star speaker at the InterEdge Summit in Melbourne on Thursday, where tickets range from £525 to £1,250 with a ‘virtual ticket’ for Harry’s speech costing costing £260 alone.

The couple insist their 2026 trip is ‘privately-funded’ but there is some disquiet because Australian taxpayers are due to foot the bill for some police security. Tens of thousands of people have signed a petition demanding the Sussexes cover all the costs themselves.

One critic accused them of treating Australia ‘like an ATM’ because the country had been ‘good to them’ when they were working royals.

Harry and Meghan’s last visit to Australia was almost a decade ago, as newlyweds.

The 2026 tour is underway with trips to a children’s hospital to meet cancer patients before Meghan served frittata at a women’s refuge.

A group of about 70 staff, parents and young patients waited in the hospital atrium for the couple, who excitedly met the crowd and then visited the Adolescent Oncology and Rehabilitation ward before taking part in a garden therapy session.

In a series of royal-style events, Meghan then went on a solo visit to a nearby homeless and domestic violence shelter where she served food to residents.

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Prince Harry and Meghan’s quasi-royal tour of Australia is underway but some locals have questioned why the visit is taking place

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex wave to crowds during their visit to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne

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The couple were greeted by swathes of crowds upon their arrival