Harry and Meghan’s first overseas tour: everything you need to know

Duke and Duchess of Sussex to follow in
footsteps of Charles and Diana

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A statement from Kensington Palace confirmed: ”Their Royal
Highnesses have been invited to visit the Realms of Australia and
New Zealand by the countries’ respective governments.

“The Duke and Duchess will visit the Commonwealth countries of
Fiji and Tonga at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office.”

No date has been given for the tour, but it “will coincide with
the fourth Invictus Games – the event Prince Harry founded for
wounded and injured military veterans”, says ITV News.

The Games, which start on 20 October in host city Sydney, also
“hold extra significance for the royal couple; they made their
first public appearance together at the 2017 Games in Toronto,
Canada”, says CNN.

Will they be well received?

The Queen remains the Head of State in Australia and New
Zealand, “and the younger royals are extremely popular in both
countries”, says ITV News.

In the last Australian referendum on becoming a republic, in
1999, Australians voted to maintain ties with the British Monarch,
with 54% in favour.

Following the announcement of the latest royal tour, Australian
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said he was sure Australians would
greet the newly-weds with “great warmth and excitement”.

“The Duke of Sussex has become a champion for war veterans
around the world, including in Australia. His attendance [at the
Games], alongside the Duchess of Sussex, will be a wonderful
highlight for the more than 500 competitors and thousands of
spectators,” Turnbull said in a statement.

Prince Harry and Meghan, who wed on 19 May, will be following in
the footsteps of other royal couples.

Harry’s parents, Prince Charles and Princess Diana, “toured
Australia and New Zealand for the first overseas trip after their
wedding”, says CNN. During that trip, Charles and Diana
travelled 23,601 miles during a total of 41 days overseas.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have also toured Australia and
New Zealand, in April 2014, when “they were away for 18 days,
covering 23,701 miles”, reports the Daily Mirror.

And their reception in the Pacific islands?

The former British colony of Fiji,
a Melanesian island group with
a population of about a million, has been a republic since 1970.
Neighbouring Tonga, with a population of just 106,000, is the only
monarchy in the Pacific and is currently ruled by King Tupou
VI.

Nevertheless, commentators anticipate a warm welcome for the
British royals. Both island nations “are worried about the threat
from rising sea levels caused by climate change and it is likely
that the visit by the Duke and Duchess will highlight some of those
concerns”, says ITV News.