Prince Harry and Meghan’s Australia trip 'carefully controlled' to lessen negativity - but how successful was it really?

It’s easy to look at the photographs of Prince Harry and Meghan’s Australia visit and think that they were met with excitement by the Australian public. They certainly made an impression and were greeted positively by so many people, yet there are also other factors when it comes to measuring the trip's success.

Unlike the last time the Sussexes were Down Under in 2018, this time the couple undertook no walkabouts. These occasions are usually an excellent indication of public interest and mood, and an associate professor at Flinders University believes Prince Harry and Meghan’s itinerary "minimise[d] the risk" of negativity.

Giselle Bastin, who has a research interest in the relationship between Australia and the monarchy claimed to the BBC, "They didn't turn up at great big advertised opportunities to see them, at least not in the form of walkabouts".

"So they've managed to minimise the risk of people having a negative reaction, or hecklers calling out or booing them or anything like that," she continued.

Giselle expressed her belief that the visit was "very carefully controlled so that they just sort of spontaneously appear at places". In her view, "If they think it's gone well, it's because nothing has gone wrong."

Whilst they didn’t engage with giant crowds, they still made an impact and Michael Hartung, chief executive of Invictus Australia praised how much Harry and Meghan do for charitable causes.

"A lot of criticism is thrown their way and what we've seen this past week is they do a hell of a lot for charity and organisations like us, where their presence here in Australia has made a significant impact on our work," he said, adding, "It really does make a difference."

Like is so often the case where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are concerned, this four-day visit appears to have divided people. Like Giselle mentioned, large-scale walkabouts would definitely have opened them up to more potential criticism, not least because these are a hallmark of any royal tour.

The Australia trip raised eyebrows with how similar certain aspects were to an official royal visit despite Harry and Meghan stepping back as working royals in 2020. In Woman magazine, a senior source based at Buckingham Palace alleged to royal expert Duncan Larcombe that the Sussexes are "acting outside the rules" Queen Elizabeth set for them then.

Meanwhile Duncan himself wrote that his sources believe "King Charles and William feel very strongly that Harry and Meghan need to be reined in" and that "their 'royal visits' could pose a possible problem for the rest of the family".

Royal tours are high-profile diplomatic trips and are carried out at the request of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office.

The working royals are representing the UK abroad and their engagements aren’t blended with private, paid events. The same is true of State Visits like the King Charles and Queen Camilla will undertake to the US from 27th April-30th April, followed by His Majesty’s royal visit to Bermuda from 1st-2nd May.

King Charles and Prince Harry aren’t expected to meet during this time and this makes sense as the monarch’s recently-released schedule is packed. Traditional walkabouts apparently aren’t featured in the programme, but this is allegedly on the advice of the security services.