Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s pal takes fire at their critics ahead of Australia tour

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who are Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, will stop at Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney when they undertake their Australia tour

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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are seen at an event in Hollywood, California(Image: Getty Images for W+P)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s new PR boss has hit out at the couple’s critics with a waspish statement.

Liam Maguire, longtime mate of Harry, stressed the couple’s trip to Australia this week will not be funded by the country’s taxpayers. This clarity comes despite more than 43,000 people signing a petition to voice their anger at the idea of public cash being spent that way.

Harry and Meghan have also faced criticism that the trip is a “publicity tour,” having recently lost their contract with Netflix. However, Mr Maguire said: “The programme is rooted in long-standing areas of work for the Duke and Duchess, with a clear focus on amplifying organisations delivering measurable impact. The visit prioritises listening, learning and supporting communities rather than promotion.”

His statement forms an answer in a Q&A section of a document released to the press about the trip, which begins next Tuesday. It reveals, for the first time, details of the tour, which will see the couple visit Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney.

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Prince Harry is seen during a tour of Nigeria in 2024(Image: Anadolu via Getty Images)

Mr Maguire, a military veteran, uses the “Operational Planning Notes” document to state the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will make joint appearances focusing on veterans and mental health, including a visit to a children’s hospital and an Invictus Australia event on Sydney Harbour.

Meghan, 44, will also undertake a solo visit to a women’s homelessness shelter, while 41-year-old Harry will attend an AFL (Australian Football League) club in Melbourne and a rugby union match in Sydney. Harry is also expected to make a brief visit to Canberra without his wife.

The duo left the UK for the US in 2020, and since stopped representing the Royal Family. Their trip Down Under, though, appears to resemble a royal tour in many ways. The couple were warned by royal experts they’d “need thick skins” as they may face a hostile reception in some places.

But the new document says the Sussex have been “invited to Australia by a number of groups” and so they have a very busy four-day itinerary. They won’t, however, undertake traditional “walkabouts” — where members of the Royal Family greet their subjects in public — “due to the security costs of keeping public order”.

Mr Maguire, the couple’s newly appointed chief communications officer, also confirmed Harry and Meghan’s two children; Archie, six, and Lilibet, four, won’t be present. In 2014, the then one-year-old Prince George was snapped meeting a bilby at a zoo in Sydney during Prince and Princess of Wales ‘ Australia tour. The adorable moment warmed the hearts of royal watchers across the world.