April 16, 2026
Harry and Meghan’s Melbourne Tour Draws Cheers, Criticism and Commercial Questions
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle continue their Australia visit with a mix of charitable work, business ventures and public appearances. In Melbourne, the couple focused on mental health and community initiatives, while Meghan’s fashion choices—and her new role as an investor in an AI-powered retail platform—sparked debate online. Harry spoke candidly about parenting, therapy and his upbringing, while also taking part in a light-hearted Australian rules football session. As crowds turned out in strong numbers on the ground, media commentary remained divided, with critics questioning the blending of charity and commerce. A dispatch from the Telegraph captures the contrasting reactions, while Deep Crown offers a sharp analysis of how similar engagements might have been received had they come from the Prince and Princess of Wales.
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Calarogu Shark Media. Hello and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I
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am host Mark Grancis. Harry and Meghan remain in Melbourne,
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where their schedule continues to center on Indigenous initiatives and
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mental health focused engagements. Tomorrow they are due to travel
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to Sydney, where Prince Harry will take part in events
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promoting Invictus Australia, the veteran's charity he founded, with further
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appearances expected alongside members of the Invectus community. Megan wore
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a collection of high end jewelry while visiting a women's
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shelter in Melbourne, including a Cartier watch valued at around
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twenty six thousand dollars and a Cartier Love bracelet worth
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approximately eight thousand dollars, alongside other accessories. She paired the
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jewelry with a navy dress by Australian designer Karen Ghee
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as she helped serve mills to residents at the shelter.
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The choice of accessories prompted reaction online, with some critics
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questioning whether the display of expensive items was appropriate for
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the setting. When social media user wrote nothing like wearing
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eleven hundred dollars earrings a Cartier watch and a Tiffany
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braceleted a homeless shelter now absolutely disgusting. Another added, why
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wear something so expensive to a refuge giving out meals
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to women that haven't got a bloody home. Megan's successories
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may have been shaped by another commercial dimension to the
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Australia tour, linking her wardrobe choices directly to a new
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business venture. The Duchess of Sussex has joined an AI
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powered fashion platform called one Off as both an investor
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and featured contributor, with her outfits from the trip now
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available to brows and purchase through q ated edits. Her
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first collection is already live, featuring pieces she has worn
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during engagements in Melbourne, including a navy Kranghee dress and
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a Swede set by Australian brand Saint Agne. The platform
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includes a broader archive of a fashion choices, with more
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than twenty outfits dating back to twenty twenty four, spanning
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public appearances, travel and promotional posts tied to her lifestyle brand.
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The move positions Megan not just as a public figure,
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but is what the report describes as an influence investor,
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aligning her fashion choices with direct to consumer retail commentator
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Megan Kelly questioned the couple's motives, saying she goes to
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a children's hospital where they focus on cancer victims and
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makes it into a photo op for her. Of course,
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God forbid. They just go and visit the sick children
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in Melbourne. They have to have cameras and get their
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cheers and applause, Like how many times have you gone
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to do charitable work and you just make sure you've
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got your cameras in toes so that you can get
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the credit. That's the bottom line. The Duchess is set
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to make a guest appearance on MASTERSHEP Australia, joining the
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show as a guest judge during the upcoming season. Meghan
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has already filmed her segment, where she will help guide
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some of the most impressive home cooks the competition has
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ever seen, working alongside judges Poling Yow, Sophia Levin and
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Jean Christophe Novelli. Harry has spoken candidly about his upbringing
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and approach to parenting during an appearance in Melbourne. The
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Duke of Sussex took part in an on stage Q
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and A for November at witten Oval, where he reflected
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on how parenting has changed over time and how his
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own experiences have shaped his outlook. I see parenting evolving
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over time. I think it always has. Just from my perspective.
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Our kids are our upgrade, he said, adding even if
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you have the best upbringing in the world, then you
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have the best parenting in the world. There's still room
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for improvement. He also referenced his own childhood, noting that
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when he was growing up there wasn't social media and
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so conversations around it never existed between he and his parents.
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The Duke went on to discuss relationships and the pressures
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of parenting, describing how couples can experience tension after long days.
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There's this conflict where it's like both are true. Your
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day has been challenging. My day has been challenging. So
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let's just use this moment and this opportunity to reconnect.
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Harry also spoke about his own struggles following the birth
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of his son Archie in twenty nineteen, explaining that he
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found it difficult not having a more active role in
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the early stages of parenting. He said therapy ahead of
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becoming a father had helped him prepare, adding you want
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to be the best version of yourself for your kids.
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I knew that I had stuff from the past that
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I needed to deal with. Prince Harry's visit to Melbourne
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included a lighter moment, with the Duke trying his hand
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at Australian rules football. During a November event at Wittnovle,
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he joined players from the Western Bulldogs for a kick around,
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receiving an informal assessment of his skills. Midfielder Matthew Kennedy
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gave him a sex out of ten, adding he needs
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to probably get the ball spinning in the right direction.
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The session formed part of a mental health event where
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Harry also spoke about parenting and his own experiences balancing
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work and family life. He later spent time with children
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and players on the field, even receiving team gear to
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ten home. The visit was part of a broader day
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that combined public engagement with more reflective moments. Earlier, how
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he traveled to Canberra to attend a last post ceremony
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at the Australian War Memorial, where his focus returned to
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veterans' issues, an area that continues to define much of
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his public work. During an invectus related event, he told attendees.
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Our courage does not end when the uniform comes off.
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Your recovery journeys, often unseen, are acts of strength in
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their own right, adding because what happens after service is
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just as important as service itself, more palace. In just
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a moment in the Telegraph, Victoria Ward writes, there was
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talk of Timtam's and koalas large crowds, flowers and selfies.
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I watched as the Duchess of Sussex hugged sick children,
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declared a hospital garden serene and was laden with handmade
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drawings and knitted flowers. Prince Harry meanwhile agonized overclaimed model
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of a wingless cooker Borough and joked that he might
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struggled to get the sweet smelling bark of a gumtree
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back home through customs. In another life, this could have
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been their second official royal tour down Under. Instead, here
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they are described as B grade reality TV stars intent
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on using their royal titles to make money quickly, having
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left the UK to seek financial independence. With no more
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money flowing from the King's finances, they must find a
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way to pay the mortgage in those infamously hefty private
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security bills. But when they try to combine business deals
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with charitable work that resembles the very royal duties they
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were so desperate to leave behind. The public pushers back.
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Television anchors on the breakfast shows repeatedly asked whether anyone
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was actually interested in the visit, while politicians railed against
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the police resources plowed into the visit funded by the taxpayer.
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On the ground, as is often the way with royal jobs,
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it was a remarkably different story. The couple arrived at
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the Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne to as big a
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crowd as I have ever seen on such an engagement.
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The Duke was in his element, relaxed and charted. This,
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of course, the job he was raised to do. The
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Duchess is pretty good at it too, though perhaps more
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noticeably aware of the cameras and the eyes on her
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every move. On the flip side, he is still her
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guiding hand. When the Duchess was given a book of poetry,
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she politely looked at it and put it down, only
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for Prince Harry to tell her gently to keep it
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in his substack. Deep Crown writes, imagine for a moment
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that it is the Prince and Princess of Wales, arriving
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in Melbourne rather than the Sussexes. The Prince takes part
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in a kick around at at AFL club. Rated he
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has rated generously six out of ten by a amused
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professional footballer. He wears the team scarf. He asks questions
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about the league. The photographs are warm and slightly undignified
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in exactly the right way. The Princess meanwhile, records a
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guest appearance on Master's Share of Australia. She is charming
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and slightly nervous and laughs at herself when something goes wrong.
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She talks about cooking for the children. She is for
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forty minutes of primetime television, exactly what the Palace needs
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her to be. The future Queen who also makes pastor
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on a Tuesday. In that version of events, both activities
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are filed without hesitation as institutional gold Commonwealth engagement. The
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future King connects with Australia, the Princess of Wales relatable, warm,
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exactly like us. The machinery takes these raw materials and
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converts them into something the Crown can use for the
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next twenty years. That machinery exists. It is very good
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at its job. It's simply not available to the sussexism
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and you can follow Deep Crown substack news that are
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for free, even receive it by email. Just search for
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Deep Crown on Google or click the link in the
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episode notes. Search for Deep Crown on substack and they
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have it. If you'd like to email so addresses the
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Palace intrigu at gmail doug com. Please fasten Spotify, Apple
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or the app of your choice by Mark Francis My
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thanks to John McDermott. This is Palace Intrigue and good
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00:07:11.639 --> 00:07:14.560
126
00:07:14.839 --> 00:07:17.040
127
00:07:17.079 --> 00:07:19.759
128
00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:24.079
129
00:07:24.160 --> 00:07:26.839
130
00:07:26.920 --> 00:07:29.839
131
00:07:29.879 --> 00:07:33.480
132
00:07:33.519 --> 00:07:36.279
133
00:07:36.319 --> 00:07:40.079
134
00:07:40.079 --> 00:07:43.480
135
00:07:43.560 --> 00:07:46.879
136
00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:49.759
137
00:07:49.759 --> 00:07:52.439
138
00:07:52.959 --> 00:07:55.600
139
00:07:55.600 --> 00:07:59.040
140
00:07:59.079 --> 00:08:01.959
141
00:08:02.000 --> 00:08:05.360
142
00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:10.319
143
00:08:10.319 --> 00:08:14.040
144
00:08:14.079 --> 00:08:17.199
145
00:08:17.240 --> 00:08:19.160
146
00:08:19.240 --> 00:08:23.120
147
00:08:23.199 --> 00:08:26.920
148
00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:29.600
149
00:08:29.600 --> 00:08:32.039
150
00:08:32.120 --> 00:08:34.799
151
00:08:34.960 --> 00:08:39.720
152
00:08:39.840 --> 00:08:41.600
153
00:08:41.639 --> 00:08:44.519
154
00:08:44.639 --> 00:08:47.039
155
00:08:47.080 --> 00:08:49.919
156
00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:50.360
