Royal Family ‘watching’ Meghan and Harry’s ‘attempt to crack Australia’
Royal Family ‘watching’ Meghan and Harry’s ‘attempt to crack Australia’ very closely says former royal butler
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s planned trip to Australia will be ‘watched very closely’ by the UK government and the Royal Family, King Charles’ butler has claimed.
Grant Harrold, who worked for the royals between 2007 and 2011, believes the trip along with Meghan’s reported Australian interviews suggest the couple are trying to ‘crack Australia’.
Speaking on behalf of Joe Fortune, Grant highlights how the country is ‘very important’ to the UK, with the King still acting as their Head of State.
He also believes Harry would have told his father of their plans, and predicts it will run in a very similar way to a Royal Tour as the couple are ‘trying to become celebrity royals’. He suggests this move towards doing more overseas trips – like their recent visit to Jordan – is because Harry ‘misses his old lifestyle of regular engagements, shaking hands and meeting people’.
Grant says Australia has ‘special moments and memories’ for the couple.
Speaking on behalf of Joe Fortune, Grant Harrold says:
“It sounds like they are trying to crack Australia, which I think would be a really good idea for them. It’s a Commonwealth country, so has strong ties to the UK and the Royal Family, and brings in the previous work both Harry and Meghan have done with the organisation. It will be interesting to see how they are received when they arrive. There is a strong move at the moment to convince Australia to stay as part of the Commonwealth. It’s a very important country to the UK as the King is still the Head of State. You can guarantee that their visit will be watched very closely by the Government and the Palace.
“Australia holds a special place in their hearts as it’s where they went for their first royal tour back in 2018, just a few months after their wedding. It was Harry’s first time showing Meghan that side of royal life, and while it was a very busy itinerary they would have spared lots of very special moments and memories. They visited Sydney, Melbourne and Dubbo – and I would love to see them return to some of these places, and possibly even to some of the organisations to see how they’ve progressed in the past few years.
“I imagine this tour would be similar to ones they’ve done since quitting the Royal Family, a kind of celebrity royal tour. This means it looks very similar to a royal tour in all aspects – the same kind of engagements, the same meetings and photo ops – but it’s not arranged through the governments. I think they are trying to be ‘celebrity royals’. They want the celebrity lifestyle and the freedom that brings, but I think Harry misses his old lifestyle of regular engagements, shaking hands and meeting people.
“The King will be aware, I think as relations continue to improve Harry would have shared his plans with his father. I don’t think the Royal Family or the household will try to stop it or get involved in any way, but it obviously won’t have royal backing. I think they’ll just do their own thing.”
Who is Grant Harrold?
Grant Harrold worked as King Charles and Queen Camilla’s butler between 2004 and 2011, during which time he also served Prince William, Kate Middleton, Prince Harry and many other members of the Royal Family. Since leaving the royal household, he’s become one of the UK’s leading etiquette experts, a best-selling author and a royal commentator. In 2025, he published his first book, The Royal Butler, which became an Amazon bestseller. He regularly appears on TV offering royal commentary on both current and historic news stories, with appearances on This Morning, BBC, GB News and Channel 5 documentaries.