The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have arrived in Sydney to begin an official visit to Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.
It is the couple’s first official royal tour since getting married in May. The 16-day trip coincides with the fourth Invictus Games, beginning in Sydney on Saturday, and includes dozens of official events.
Prince Harry and Meghan were met by a large media and security presence at the airport on Monday.
They were driven to Admiralty House, the Sydney Harbour residence of Governor-General Peter Cosgrove – who is the Queen’s representative in Australia.
The couple follow in the footsteps of Prince Harry’s parents – Prince Charles and Diana, Princess of Wales – whose first royal tour was to Australia and New Zealand.
However, the couple did make an official overseas visit to Ireland in July.
hey will rest before beginning official duties on Tuesday.
New South Wales (NSW) Premier Gladys Berejiklian welcomed the couple to Australia, describing the visit as exciting.
“It’s really a visit with the people,” she told local network Nine on Monday.In the coming days, Prince Harry and Meghan will visit attractions including the Sydney Opera House, Taronga Zoo and Bondi Beach. They will also take day trips to Melbourne, drought-stricken NSW town Dubbo, and Queensland’s Fraser Island.
They will then spend a few days in Fiji and Tonga, before concluding the trip with four days in New Zealand.
For the duke, the tour marks a return visit to all four countries. The duchess has previously visited New Zealand as a tourist.
Prince Harry’s brother and sister-in-law, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, spent 18 days in Australia and New Zealand on an official tour in April 2014.
Media captionTheir first royal engagement as a married couple was at a Buckingham Palace garden party
The prince will launch the fourth Invictus Games in Sydney on Friday, and attend the opening and closing ceremonies.
He founded the Paralympic-style competition for injured servicemen and servicewomen and veterans in 2014. BBC
