Meghan and Harry’s Australian itinerary has been released
PRINCE Harry and his wife Meghan will be touring Australia later this month and their packed itinerary has just been released.
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PRINCE Harry and wife Meghan will walk the Sydney Opera House forecourt, pat a koala and ride a Melbourne tram during their much-anticipated visit to Australia later this month.
Kensington Palace has just released details of the couple’s packed itinerary, which will see them visit New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria, as well as head to Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.
The popular young royals have scheduled several public walkabouts to allow them to greet members of the public who are expected to turn out in their thousands to see them.
While the trip has been built around the Invictus Games in Sydney, the royal couple will also visit community groups, inspect the impact of the drought, and take in sites such as Taronga Zoo in Sydney, and Fraser Island in Queensland.
Kensington Palace said Harry and Meghan - known formally as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex - had asked that the tour allow them to meet as many Australians, Fijians, Tongans, and New Zealanders as possible.
A spokeswoman said there was a “long history of friendship between the royal family’’ and the four countries they were visiting.
The trip - their first full-scale royal tour since their wedding in May - will run from October 16 to 31.
A retinue of 10 staff will accompany the royal couple - including a digital officer, three communications officers, a private secretary and a hairdresser for Duchess Meghan.
Prince Harry has visited Australia many times but Meghan has never been on Australian soil, even in a private capacity.
They will undertake 36 official engagements in Australia and 74 across the entire tour.
On Tuesday the 16th of October, the couple will be formally welcomed to Admiralty House by the Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, and meet representatives from the 18 countries sending representatives to the Invictus Games in Sydney.
They will visit Taronga Zoo to open a new science institute, and meet two koalas and their joeys.
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian will join them.
They will then travel by boat from the zoo to the Sydney Opera House.
They will watch a rehearsal by the indigenous Bangarra Dance Theatre inside the Opera House, then head outside for a walkabout to greet members of the public on the Opera House forecourt.
They will return to Admiralty House for a reception hosted by Sir Peter and Lady Cosgrove, attended by Australians drawn from the sporting, community, business and entertainment communities.
On Wednesday the 17th, they will fly to Dubbo Airport and greet local schoolchildren before heading to the Royal Flying Doctors Service hangar.
They will then meet Pip Job, the NSW drought co-ordinator, and meet a local family to hear first-hand about the impact of the drought.
On Thursday, October 18, they travel to Melbourne, where their first appearance will be a walkabout to meet members of the public at Government House Drive.
They will then attend a reception at Government House hosted by Governor Linda Dessau, joined by young Victorian community leaders.
They will board a tram and head to South Melbourne Beach, to meet volunteers from the local beach patrol.
On Friday, October 19, they will visit famous Bondi Beach, meeting local surfers and undertaking a walkabout.
Prince Harry will join Prime Minister Scott Morrison to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge and raise the Invictus Flag above the bridge.
The Invictus Games is the sporting event founded by Prince Harry to assist wounded and ill military personnel through the healing power of sport. Meghan will not undertake the bridge climb.
They will call on Opposition Leader Bill Shorten at Admiralty House, then meet Mr Morrison again at Kirribilli House next door.
On Saturday the 20th, the pair will attend an Invictus Games event on Cockatoo Island in Sydney, then attend a reception at the Bennelong Restaurant at the Opera House.
They will attend the opening of the Invictus Games on the Opera House forecourt, and spend several hours watching the festivities.
On Sunday the 21st, Prince Harry and Meghan will attend the Invictus Games road cycling event at Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens, then join Mr Morrison at a reception at the Pavilion Restaurant at The Domain.
They will attend Invictus Games sailing events at Farm Cove.
On Monday the 22nd October they travel to Fraser Island in Queensland.
They will then fly to Fiji and spend the 23rd and 24th in Suva.
October 25 will see the royal pair visit Nadi, Fiji and Nuku’alofa in Tonga.
After a further visit to Nuku’alofa, they will return to Sydney on the night of the 26th, attending the Australian Geographic Society Awards at the Shangri-La Hotel.
The Invictus Games will be the main focus on Saturday the 27th of October, with the pair attending the wheelchair basketball final at the Quaycentre.
They will attend the closing ceremony at the Qudos Bank Arena.
The 28th to the 31st will be spent in New Zealand before they return to the UK.
A number of other events in Australia have been scheduled but are not being publicised in advance.