William & Kate May Be Heading to Australia Sooner Than Expected—and Insiders Say It's a 'Revenge Tour'
More than a decade after their last visit, the Prince and Princess of Wales are reportedly planning a full-scale return Down Under.
The Prince and Princess of Wales have not set foot in Australia since 2014, when they arrived with a baby Prince George in tow and promptly won the country over. A lot has changed since then, not least the arrival of two more children, a global pandemic, a cancer diagnosis, and a royal family landscape that looks almost unrecognizable from the one they left behind. Now, according to palace insiders, Prince William and Kate Middleton are preparing to return—and they may be doing so sooner than anyone anticipated, and the timing is anything but conspicuous.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's four-day tour of Australia earlier this month left a complicated legacy. The couple moved through Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney, blending paid appearances with charitable engagements in what they described as a private visit. They were received warmly in many quarters, but the trip drew pointed criticism from those who felt the Sussexes were trading on their royal connections for commercial gain—an accusation that has followed them since they stepped back from frontline duties in 2020. Into that charged atmosphere, William and Middleton are now reportedly preparing to make their entrance. "William and Kate both know that they need to give Australia a real 'bells and whistles' royal tour as soon as their schedule allows," a palace insider told New Idea, as reported by Sky News.
Inside palace circles, the proposed visit has already acquired an unofficial name. Sources are calling it a ‘revenge tour.’ "William and Kate know that the Australian public deserves better," the insider added. "It's their job to make it happen." The insider also claims that the Prince and Princess of Wales are "well aware" that a full official tour Down Under "will take any gloss off" Harry and Markle's recent visit. Whether or not that is the primary motivation, the effect would be the same.
The groundwork has already been laid at the highest levels. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese had earlier extended a formal invitation to William, Kate, and their children during his visit to the United Kingdom in September 2025, shortly after King Charles and Queen Camilla's Australian tour in October 2024. Standing near Balmoral Castle, Albanese told reporters, "I'm certainly hoping there will be one—there's a standing invitation that the Royal Family are always welcome in Australia."
For Middleton in particular, the trip would carry its own significance. The Princess of Wales has not undertaken a major overseas tour since she and William traveled to the Caribbean in 2022 for Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee, a visit that, in hindsight, marked the end of a chapter. What followed was a period of profound personal difficulty, including a cancer diagnosis that pulled her from public life for the better part of a year. She has since returned to duties and has made no secret of her appetite for travel.
