Harry and Meghan Break Silence on Taxpayer Funding After 30,000 Sign Petition Over Aussie Tour
The question of who is paying for the Sussexes' Australia tour remains unanswered — and Australians are making their opposition heard through a growing petition.
Government agencies and private organizers remain silent on who will provide and pay for the Sussexes' protection — turning Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s upcoming Australia tour into a logistical and potential financial headache. The Duke and Duchess are scheduled for a series of private engagements between April 15 and 19, but unlike their state-funded tour of 2018, this trip is tipped to be a commercial venture. The Prince is confirmed to speak at the InterEdge Psychological Safety Summit in Melbourne for a mid-five-figure fee. While Markle is said to headline a luxury ‘Her Best Life’ retreat in Sydney, with guest entry priced at approximately $3,000. The couple has a packed schedule, yet no one seems to know who is footing the bill. Australians, meanwhile, have made their own stance clear by signing a petition. Team Sussex, however, was quick to dismiss such claims, calling them 'stupid.'
The Department of the Prime Minister and the Department of Home Affairs have both officially washed their hands of the trip, stating they have “no involvement in Harry and Meghan’s visit.” Even the Australian Federal Police offered no clarity on the matter, simply noting it “does not comment on protection arrangements.” Transparency is nowhere to be found, and the public isn’t having it. A petition on change.org — 'No Taxpayer-Funding or Official Support for Harry & Meghan’s Private Visit to Australia!' — which features the photo of the couple with the words “We Don't Want You Here," has already racked up 30,000 signatures from Aussies who would rather not pay for the tour.
Public resources shouldn’t go to high-profile individuals — at least that’s what the petition argues, as Australians continue to struggle with economic pressures. It reads, “At a time when Australians are facing significant cost-of-living pressures, including rising grocery bills, fuel prices, mortgage stress driven by interest rate hikes, and increasing energy costs, public resources must be used responsibly and applied fairly, without special treatment for high-profile individuals.” Since stepping down as senior working royals in 2020, Harry and Markle no longer receive publicly funded UK police protection. The Duke’s legal attempt to reinstate that support failed in May 2025 when a court ruled his objections to the RAVEC decision were ‘superficial’ — and while the issue is still under review at the moment, the lack of clarity persists.
Organizers in Australia might have the on-site security covered, but there is still a massive question mark over who pays for transit and crowd control if the couple decides to step out in public. Further complicating the matter is the financial state of the company staging Markle’s Sydney retreat. The Gemmie Agency — run by promoter Gemma O’Neill — collapsed last year, owing more than $540,000 to the Australian Tax Office. O’Neill told liquidators in February that she had limited income and no available savings to settle the debt.
With the tour structured as a private trip, government-funded protection does not automatically apply — yet the scale of the visit suggests the public may still end up footing the bill for police resources. Though the situation is gaining momentum with each passing day, as soon as the news reached Team Sussex, they were quick to blast such reports. "It's a moot point," a spokesperson of the couple said, stating, "The trip is being funded privately, so I'm not sure what this petition hopes to achieve." They continued, "Of course, if you wanted to dive into the ridiculousness of this petition as an agenda for spreading misinformation, then one could equally hypothesize that there are approximately 26.5 million Australians (99.98% of the population) who haven't signed it, who must therefore agree with the taxpayer picking up the tab for their visit...That is another equally stupid assertion to make, but hey, why let common sense get in the way of a good story..."
