Expert Claims King Charles Has 'Washed His Hands' of Harry and Meghan's 'Quasi-Royal Tour'

After the Sussexes announced their Australia trip, critics described it as an attempt to imitate their former royal life.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle recently announced plans to visit Australia in mid-April for a series of business and philanthropic engagements. After news of their upcoming trip emerged, critics unkindly described it as an attempt to imitate their former life within the royal family. Weighing in on the same, TV presenter Mark Dolan pointedly dubbed it a 'quasi royal tour,' while royal expert Ingrid Seward suggested that King Charles had long distanced himself from the couple, despite their best efforts.

During an interview for The Mark Dolan Show, the TV presenter asked Seward, "What do you think of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's decision to travel to Australia next month? Many criticized their faux royal tour in the Middle East a few weeks ago." To which she replied, "They [Harry and Markle] are obviously trying to promote themselves, and they need to keep a high profile in order to make money." Dolan then wondered whether the King would be pleased with the Sussexes' 'quasi-royal tour' and their attempts to replicate their past life. Seward responded, "I think the King has probably slightly washed his hands of them. He's got plenty of other things to worry about." 

With that in mind, Seward continued, "They [Harry and Markle] do what they like up to a point. I think he [Charles] has got more important things to worry about than what Harry and Meghan are doing at this moment." Sharing her opinions on the couple's recent tour to the Middle East, she opined, "I think they [Harry and Markle] are lucky they were in the Middle East a few weeks ago and they are not there now." Reports also claim that the Duchess of Sussex is looking to expand her lifestyle brand, As Ever, in Australia before selling the products in the UK.

Unsurprisingly, Seward and Doland are not the only ones who are pessimistic about Harry and Markle's upcoming Australia tour. In an article on his Substack, royal expert Tom Sykes mentioned a 2022 poll in the country, which clearly highlighted the couple's dwindling public support. Explaining how their visit could create a political upheaval for the monarchy, he penned, "Although there has been no major nationwide survey focused solely on Harry and Meghan's standing in Australia in the past year, broader polling shows Australians are split over the monarchy and the role of King Charles III as the country's head of state."

Amid these developments, the royal expert cautioned that the Sussexes would likely become the 'lightning rods' in Australia's ongoing debate about the royal family. He added, "For now, one thing seems certain: Harry and Meghan will need thick skins when they arrive in a country where they are no longer assured of a warm welcome." Harry and Markle's trip to Australia will be their first in seven years, having last visited the country in 2018, when the Duchess was pregnant with Prince Archie.