Who Actually Picked Up the Tab for Harry and Meghan’s $500K Australia Trip: Report
Although the Sussexes have pushed back against claims of taxpayer funding, many are still questioning their vague response.
Although Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pushed back on claims of taxpayer funding, insisting their Australia trip was privately funded, many are still side-eyeing their vague response. As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex touched down in the US on Sunday, the demand for a proper answer only grew louder. Now, well-placed insiders claim it wasn't taxpayers, or the couple themselves, but behind-the-scenes commercial deals and sponsorships that quietly picked up the tab for the Sussexes.
In an article on his Substack, Naughty But Nice, royal commentator Rob Shuter spoke to various sources who spilled the details on the Sussexes so-called 'private funding.' One revealed, "The fact they [Harry and Meghan] won't say tells you everything. If it were clean and simple, they'd just name the funders." And this very silence is allegedly raising eyebrows behind Palace walls. They added, "There's real concern. Because when money isn't transparent, people start asking why." According to Shuter's informants, there were multiple 'business interests' involved in funding their visit, suggesting that brands, investors, or affiliated ventures tied to the couple footed the entire bill.
And it's these very shady dealings that have reportedly rung alarm bells, carrying painful echoes of the past. A source cautioned, "We've seen how this plays out," snarkily referring to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Sarah Ferguson's unethical financial dealings that ultimately led to their downfall. "When wealthy people fund access, it can get messy — fast." Even if parts of their trip were, let's say, funded by investors, questions still loom over the bigger picture. The insider stressed, "This was a full-scale tour — and someone bankrolled it. It's not just about the money. It's about influence — and who's really behind it."
Harry and Markle's Australia tour, reported to have cost $500K, was initially rumored to have been funded by taxpayers. These unwarranted claims were fueled by a petition on change.org — 'No Taxpayer-Funding or Official Support for Harry & Meghan's Private Visit to Australia!' with the words "We Don't Want You Here." It read, "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." It received signatures from over 30,000 Australians who had no interest in paying for the Sussexes security.
As soon as this news reached Team Sussex, they issued a swift rebuttal on behalf of Harry and Markle, saying in a statement, "The trip is being funded privately, so I'm not sure what this petition hopes to achieve. 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..." Even the Department of the Prime Minister and the Department of Home Affairs officially denied any part in funding the tour.
