By Alasdair Pal
SYDNEY, April 14 (Reuters) – Britain’s Prince Harry and wife Meghan landed in Australia on Tuesday for a four-day visit with engagements covering sport, mental health and veterans’ affairs.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will begin their trip with a visit to a children’s hospital in Melbourne, before Meghan attends a women’s domestic violence shelter, their office said in a statement.
“Their programme will focus on mental health, community resilience and support for veterans and their families, alongside private meetings and special projects,” the statement said.
The couple will travel to the capital, Canberra, on Wednesday to meet military veterans, attend a mental health summit in Melbourne on Thursday and round off the trip with sailing and rugby events in Sydney on Friday.
The Sussexes stepped down as working members of the British royal family and moved to the U.S. in 2020, citing a desire to be financially independent and to escape what they characterised as media intrusion into their private lives.
They last visited Australia in 2018 while still working royals, announcing Meghan’s first pregnancy hours after arriving in Sydney.
Their latest visit has captured public attention in Australia, where Britain’s King Charles is the head of state, though a sizeable minority supports becoming a republic.
But there was little sign of the crowds and official reception that greeted them on their previous trip. Television networks aired footage that they said showed the couple arriving in Melbourne on a commercial flight from Los Angeles, before being taken from the tarmac in a vehicle convoy.
The couple’s travel is being privately funded, though local media reported some policing costs associated with the visit would be paid by Australian taxpayers, sparking a protest petition signed by more than 45,000 people.
In contrast to their previous visit, the Sussexes will also undertake commercial activities while in Australia, with Meghan remaining in the country to host a wellness retreat at a luxury beachside hotel in Sydney over the weekend.
Tickets for the event, which includes yoga, manifestation and sound healing, begin at A$2,699 ($1,912) per person.
($1 = 1.4114 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Alasdair Pal in Sydney; Editing by Kate Mayberry and Thomas Derpinghaus)
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