Prince Harry and Meghan Markle follow in Charles and Diana's footsteps with Australia visit
Charles and Diana visited Australia in 1985Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have followed in his parents’ footsteps with a visit in Australia.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex recently arrived in Australia for a four-day tour. The couple’s office said the trip will “focus on mental health, community resilience, and support for veterans and their families, alongside private meetings and special projects”.
On Tuesday, Harry and Meghan landed in Melbourne and visited the Royal Children’s Hospital. It’s a visit that followed in Harry’s parents King Charles and Princess Diana’s footsteps many years ago.
Prince Harry and Meghan visit hospital in Australia
During the hospital visit, Harry and Meghan met young patients and their families as well as medical staff.
One patient, 12-year-old Novalie Morris, spoke to PEOPLE about meeting the duke and duchess. Novalie said: “I gave Harry flowers and he said ‘thank you’ and he told me to ‘keep on being brave.’ It cheered me up a lot and I’ll keep thinking about that.”
It’s a way of keeping Princess Diana’s memory alive.
After Meghan and Harry’s trip to the Royal Children’s Hospital, Professor Christine Kilpatrick AO (Officer of the Order of Australia), who serves as Board Chair of The Royal Children’s Hospital, revealed the reaction to the couple.
She told PEOPLE: “Look around and you can see the crowds of people. The smiles on their faces and what it means to them. Everyone is absolutely delighted.
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“You can’t measure the morale boost, but it is palpable. Many of these patients have been here for quite some time and are often very frequent visitors to the hospital, a joy like this is wonderful for them.”
Charles and Diana’s visit to the hospital
Prince Harry and Meghan’s visit was a poignant moment as his late mother, Princess Diana, once visited decades ago.
In October 1985, then-Prince Charles and Princess Diana visited the specialised hospital in Melbourne. It was during their 13-day tour of Australia.
During the first day of their tour, Meghan made a nod to Diana with her choice of jewellery. She wore Diana’s yellow gold Cartier Tank Française watch for the first day of their Australia tour.
Speaking to Slots Temple, former royal butler Grant Harrold said: “It’s lovely that Meghan is wearing one of Princess Diana’s personal items. It’s a way of keeping Princess Diana’s memory alive, and showing that she is still in their thoughts.
“It’s also nice to see the watch despite Meghan not technically doing royal work. She’s not just wearing it for the royal nod, she’s wearing it purely for the sentimental value.”
Royal fans also loved seeing the duke and duchess in Australia. One person gushed on X: “Harry and Meghan [are] the people’s prince and princess.”
Another wrote: “How happy do they look,” followed by heart emojis.
Meghan and Harry urged to ‘end royal feud’
Elsewhere, there have been calls for the duke and duchess to mend relations with the royal family.
Since stepping back from royal duties in 2020, Harry and Meghan have done a string of tell-all interviews and he has released his memoir, Spare. The projects detailed their experience in the royal family and contained some damning allegations about his relatives.
Read more: Meghan Markle in ‘tug of war’ with ‘resistant’ Prince Harry over Montecito ‘decision’
However, since then, Harry and Meghan’s relationship with his family has reportedly been strained.
Speaking to the BBC, one Sydney resident said: “They are very much about self promotion, they’d probably be my least favourite royals, put it that way.
“I really think they need to step up and do more for the general public and finish this ongoing feud with their family.”
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