What really happened on Meghan Markle, Prince Harry’s Australian royal tour

Meghan and Prince Harry’s Aussie tour appeared to be an enormous success. But it was full of chaos behind the scenes.

Meghan Markle allegedly questioned why adoring crowds had turned up to welcome her and Prince Harry to Australia in their high profile tour in 2018.

The tour has hit the headlines following the couple’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.

During the interview it emerged the relationship between the Royal Family and Prince Harry, 36, and Meghan, 39, deteriorated rapidly after the tour.

“They (the Royal Family) were really welcoming … but it changed after the Australia tour,” Prince Harry told Oprah Winfrey.

There were claims Meghan had tantrums with hairdressers, and drinks were knocked over in heated disputes with staff, which the duchess has rejected as a “smear campaign.”

The Australian trip was her first major overseas tour.

The duchess ducked out of events early and missed some events altogether as the pace of the 76-engagement, 16-day trip took its toll.

At the time her absence was waved away as the result of her pregnancy – she was about 12 weeks at the time – but a new image has now emerged.

Sources have claimed Meghan thought the royal tour was “silly”.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex arrive at Dubbo Airport on October 17, 2018. Picture: Getty

“What are they all doing here? It’s silly,” the duchess allegedly said in Sydney, according to staff who filed a bullying complaint against her.

A staff member, according to a report in The Times of London, then told her: “They’re here because they admire and support a monarch and an institution that you’re representing,’ “She didn’t get it.”

Two of the duchess’ assistants quit, including Melissa Touabti, who walked out a month after the Australian tour.

Former Queenslander Sam Cohen, who was drafted by the Queen to help Meghan learn the royal ropes, was put under pressure, according to emails leaked to The Times.

Meghan has disputed that bullying claim as a “smear campaign”, which was leaked the week before her Oprah interview was to air.

Queen Elizabeth II sits with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex accompanied by Samantha Cohen (Back, centre) during a ceremony to open the new Mersey Gateway Bridge on June 14, 2018 in the town of Widnes in Halton, Cheshire. Picture: Getty

Her friend Janina Gavankar said on British television last week that Meghan had proof, including emails and texts, that she was not a bully and claimed that one of the staff members was fired for “gross misconduct”.

“I am personally glad people are doing their due diligence because I also know why someone had to leave,” she said on ITV.

Reports have previously emerged of drama on the tour.

In January 2019, the New York Post reported comments from a tour insider.

“During their tour, just before they were about to go to the Invictus Games, Meghan was bawling at her hairdresser to get her hair right, while at the same time someone was ironing the bottom of the dress she was wearing,” the source said.

However, the headlines and TV coverage were overwhelmingly positive and Prince Harry claimed that the palace was jealous of Meghan’s success in Australia, just like his mother Princess Diana in 1983.

“It was also the first time that the family got to see how incredible she is at the job. And that brought back memories,” Prince Harry said in a nod to his mother.

“Really here you have one of the greatest assets to the Commonwealth that the family could have ever wished for.”

Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex wave to the well-wishers after taking a ride on a tram in Melbourne, October 18, 2018. Picture: AAP

The Australian tour included stops in Dubbo, Sydney, Melbourne and Fraser Island.

In Dubbo, they visited drought stricken farmers, and a school helping improve “education outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders.”

In Melbourne, there was a visit with officials at Government House, and a cafe helping young Aboriginal people get jobs.

In Sydney, Prince Harry climbed the Harbour Bridge to launch the Invictus Games and met with a mental health charity OneWave on Bondi Beach.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex talk to members of OneWave, an awareness group for mental health and wellbeing at South Bondi Beach on October 19, 2018. Picture: Getty

Britain's Prince Harry, Australia's Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Invictus Games representatives climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge in Sydney, Friday, October 19, 2018. Picture: AP

On Fraser Island they met with indigenous groups.

The tour brought back memories of the one undertaken by Prince Charles and Princess Diana when she was just 21-years-old.

The Australian tour featured heavily in the latest season of The Crown, which Prince Harry and Meghan told Oprah they had watched.

Friends of Prince Charles have claimed the Netflix series is “trolling on a Hollywood budget”.

Originally published as What really happened on Meghan Markle, Prince Harry’s Australian royal tour