MEG DOWN UNDER  ‘Call me Meg’, Duchess of Sussex tells Australian well-wishers as she shrugs off title on first day of ‘faux royal tour’

MEGHAN Markle shrugged off her royal title and told Aussies to “call me Meg” – as the Sussexes kicked off their faux royal tour Down Under.

It’s the couple’s first visit to Australia since their headline-dominating rift with the Firm, which saw them leave the UK in 2020.

The Duchess of Sussex told well-wishers to simply ‘call me Meg’Credit: PA
 

12
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Royal Children’s Hospital Melbourne todayCredit: EPA
 

12
Harry greets a boy during the hospital visitCredit: Splash
Insiders told The Sun the four-day trip to Oz — where the King is head of state and royal news makes headlines — will be a dummy run and testing ground for a potential joint tour of the UK.

A source said: “It is a significant joint tour and could prove to be a blueprint for future tours together of this type.”

As the Sussexes met crowds at the Australian National Veterans’ Art Museum, they were asked how they wanted to be addressed.

Meghan brushed aside her royal title and told them to “call me Meg”, while Harry shrugged his shoulders, saying “however you like”.

The Sussexes also spoke to children and posed for photographs with patients as they were cheered by large crowds gathered along the walkways of the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.

Meghan later donned an apron and served frittata to people at the centre, run by McAuley Community Services for Women.

It supports women and children experiencing family violence, homelessness and related challenges.

Harry is due to speak at a summit focusing on mental health, with tickets for in-person attendance on sale at an eye-watering Aus$997 ($706).

It serves as a welcome distraction from Sentebale’s lawsuit against Prince Harry, who is being sued for defamation by his former charity.

He was accused of an alleged “adverse media campaign”, following a public falling out with chair Dr Sophie Chandauka.

Meghan, meanwhile, will take part in a “girls’ weekend like no other” at Sydney’s InterContinental Coogee Beach hotel, according to organisers.

The event features yoga, sound healing and dinners as well as disco dancing at a whopping ticket price of Aus$2,699 per person.

Those willing to pay even more get access to the “VIP experience” — which includes a group table photo with Meghan and a goodie bag.

It is not known what the duchess will be paid for her involvement in the event, which has not sold out and is still advertising a “handful of additional rooms”

12
Meghan takes part in a therapy session in the Kelpie garden with adolescent patients at the hospitalCredit: Getty

12
Meghan served food at the women’s homeless and family violence shelterCredit: Reuters

12
The couple arrive at the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum (Anvam) in SouthbankCredit: PA
Harry and Meg will also visit the capital Canberra, national broadcaster ABC said.

Their visit has already drawn criticism, with Victoria state opposition leader Jess Wilson condemning the use of taxpayers’ money to provide protection for the pair.

And while charitable causes, issues and organisations close to their hearts are central to the visit, as private citizens, the couple are free to personally profit from the trip.

Meanwhile, some critics online have slammed the events offered as “too expensive” and a “money-making event” amid the eye-watering prices.

It is their first trip to Australia since 2018, when they spent two weeks touring the country as well as New Zealand and Pacific islands in a visit that drew adoring throngs of crowds.

A source told The Telegraph that the Australian visit was well-timed. “It will be a welcome distraction from the nonsense going on in the UK,” they said.

They went on to say: “That tour was a significant moment for them in terms of working together as a couple, as a team.

“They both love Australia and are really excited to return. Harry has spent a lot of time here and is really looking forward to meeting up with old friends.”

At the hospital today, four-year-old patient Lily presented them with a hand-drawn sign that said: “Welcome Harry and Meghan”. She also gave a flower to the duchess.

Meghan hugged Lily after being presented with the gifts and told her: “Oh my gosh, this is so sweet. I love it.”

After being shown Lily’s sign, Harry said: “Nice to meet you, Lily. That’s beautiful. How long did it take?”

Harry and Meghan took part in a garden therapy session with patients at the hospital, smelling plants and flowers.

Asked if he would like to take some gumtree home, Harry, wearing a navy jacket, white shirt and metal bracelets, joked: “I would, but I think I’d probably get arrested at some point.”

Meghan, wearing a Karen Gee navy sleeveless dress, asked the patients: “Do you find that different stories and memories come out that you weren’t expecting?”

Following the hospital visit, the duchess visited a women’s refuge in the city.

After serving several people, the duchess asked “is anyone else hungry?”, while looking and smiling at the press and other people gathered in the centre.

Meghan sat at a table and joined people eating food at the centre, telling them: “We landed here this morning so my jet lag hasn’t quite hit yet.”

12
Harry and Meghan kneel down to greet child patientsCredit: Splash

12
Meghan takes part in the therapy session, which saw her smelling plants and flowersCredit: Reuters

12
Meghan shares a cute moment with a young patientCredit: Getty
The couple were greeted by a mass of local media as they entered the hospital with their visit the subject of intense press interest in Australia.

While greeting crowds at the hospital, Harry hugged Christina Parkes, who works as an academic at the University of Melbourne.

Ms Parkes, whose 13-year-old daughter Adelaide is a patient at the hospital, said it “means an enormous amount” to have the couple visit Australia.

Speaking before the couple arrived, Ms Parkes said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to see the couple.

“Harry’s grandmother actually opened the hospital originally, and her portrait and his grandfather’s portrait are in the hallway.”

Asked what she planned to say to the couple, Ms Parkes said: “Welcome to Australia, we hope they enjoy their time here.

“Thank you for taking the time to visit the hospital and see the work that the doctors and nurses are doing.

“I cannot overstate how important the work is that they do here at the children’s hospital because my daughter wouldn’t be here without them.”

Harry and Meghan visited the hospital’s wards and met oncology patient Hamish, with the duke discussing Aussie rules football with him.

The duke asked the 17-year-old: “Who’s your team, are they doing well in the league?”

The couple also met 17-year-old patient Maya, who said the hospital does “amazing” work.

Speaking before meeting the couple, Maya said: “I’m very excited. My grandma’s a big fan so we’re doing this for her just so we can say we saw them – she’ll be thrilled.

“It means a lot. Just to know that they’re worried about us, they love us, just to know that they love Australia and Melbourne, it’s really nice.

“In Melbourne, we love Prince Harry. We all love him so much, just the royal family in general.”

Harry’s parents, the King and Diana, Princess of Wales, visited the Royal Children’s Hospital in 1985, meeting patients while on a visit to the state of Victoria.

The hospital’s new site was opened in October 2011 by Queen Elizabeth II, who met with patients during her visit on her royal tour of Australia with Prince Philip.

12
The Sussexes chat to patients and staff in the hospital gardenCredit: PA

12
Harry shakes the hand of patient Hamish on the Adolescent Oncology and Rehabilitation wardCredit: PA

12
Harry playfully makes a face as he greets childrenCredit: Reuters
The late Queen opened the earlier iteration of the hospital in February 1963 – with the hospital pushing forward its opening by six months to ensure it would align with the royal tour.

The hospital, located in the Melbourne suburb of Parkville, is the designated state-wide major trauma centre for paediatrics in Victoria and a nationally funded centre for cardiac and liver transplantation.

Founded in 1870 as the Melbourne Free Hospital for Sick Children, the hospital has grown from its beginnings in a small house with six rooms to having over 6,000 staff.

The women’s refuge centre visited by Meghan provides round-the-clock crisis accommodation, refuge services and longer-term housing, alongside programmes focused on recovery, wellbeing and independence.

McAuley Houses, then known as Regina Coeli, was founded in 1986 by the Sisters of Mercy, a religious institute for women in the Catholic Church that was created in 1831 in Dublin, Ireland, by Catherine McAuley.

The organisation was merged with McAuley Care, previously known as Mercy Care, to form McAuley in 2008.