Meghan Markle and Prince Harry might not be receiving the warmest of welcomes during their upcoming visit to Australia.
Thousands have signed a petition voicing their concerns, as the couple gears up for their trip planned for mid-April.
The petition triggered a response from the couple’s team, which said people were making a “stupid assertion” regarding the trip.
Highlights
- Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been facing backlash over their upcoming visit to Australia.
- Thousands have signed a petition voicing their concerns about the couple’s trip.
- The criticism triggered a sharp response from a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
- People were making a “stupid assertion,” said a statement on the couple’s behalf.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry might not be receiving the warmest of welcomes during their upcoming visit to Australia
Image credits: Aaron Chown/PA Images/Getty Images
Within a few weeks, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will touch down in Australia roughly seven years after their last visit to the country.
Instead of applause and fanfare, a group of Aussies voiced their disdain about their trip.
Image credits: Pool/Samir Hussein/Getty Images
They demanded that the Australian Government ensures no taxpayer-funded support or official resources are offered to the ex-working royals.
Markle’s agenda in Australia includes headlining a women’s retreat in Sydney, with attendees paying about $3,000 AUD ($2,068 USD) for one ticket.
Prince Harry is also expected to speak at a mental health summit in Melbourne during the trip.
About 39,150 people have so far signed the petition, voicing their concerns about the couple’s trip
Image credits: change.org
Nearly 39,150 people have so far signed the change.org petition, decorated with an image of the couple with the text: “We don’t want you here.”
“As this is a private visit, Australian taxpayers must not fund security, logistics or government coordination,” read the petition.
Image credits: Aaron Chown/PA Images/Getty Images
“Since stepping down from royal duties in 2020, they no longer represent the Crown and now operate private commercial ventures based in the United States,” the message continued.
The petition pointed out how Australians were grappling with rising grocery bills and fuel prices, in addition to mortgage stress and other cost-of-living pressures.
Hence, the petitioners voiced their disapproval over offering taxpayer-funded support to the couple.
A spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said people were making a “stupid assertion”
As numbers on the petition continued to grow, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex clarified that the trip would be privately funded.
“It's a moot point,” a spokesperson told the Daily Mail. “The trip is being funded privately, so I’m not sure what this petition hopes to achieve.”
Image credits: Kristina Bumphrey/Variety/Getty Images
Calling the petition “ridiculous,” the spokesperson pointed out that the number of Australians willing to offer their signatures was a small portion of the country’s population.
“Of course, if you wanted to dive into the ridiculousness of this petition as an agenda for spreading misinformation, then one could equally hypothesise that there are approximately 26.5 million Australians (99.98 per cent of the population) who haven't signed it,” the statement continued.
“Who must therefore agree with the taxpayer picking up the tab for their visit,” the statement concluded. “Of course, that is another equally stupid assertion to make.”
Royal experts said the couple see the trip as a “cash grab” but would face intense backlash
Image credits: BBC News
The Sussex’s last trip to Australia was in 2018, before they officially stepped down from their roles as senior working members of the royal family in 2020.
They stayed at the Governor-General's official Sydney residence, Kirribilli House and had taxpayer-funded police escort them throughout the trip.
Royal commentators said the couple can expect backlash over the upcoming visit to Australia.
Describing the trip as a “cash grab,” royal author Tom Bower told The Daily Telegraph, “Meghan is doing it for money, it’s rather grubby … she’s monetising her royalty which I think is pretty shabby because she promised the Queen she wouldn’t do that.”
The Betrayal: Power, Deceit and the Fight for the Future of the Royal Family author asserted that the trip was “clearly to make money to raise their profile,” but the couple would find it “rougher than they anticipated.”
Their trip to Australia is like “heading into the hornets' nest - covered in sticky honey,” one expert said
Image credits: ABC News
Journalist Chris Riches said Prince Harry and Markle’s upcoming trip was like “heading into the hornets' nest - covered in sticky honey.”
“Prince Harry and Meghan Markle think they will get a red carpet as ‘welcomed Royals,’” the expert said, as quoted by Mirror.
Image credits: The Royal Family Channel
He also said the controversy surrounding Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, who was arrested and released last month as part of the investigation into his Jeffrey Epstein ties, was doing no favors to the the Sussex couple’s image.
“If ever there was a time for one of their faux-Royals to jet into a country that's expressed the desire to axe Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor from the Line of Succession, it's not now,” Riches added.
Netizens did not hold back while sharing their thoughts on the Sussex couple’s trip to Australia
