Meghan Markle and Prince Harry arrive in Melbourne on Qantas commercial flight, reportedly flying first class

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have made their first appearance, kicking off their quasi royal Australia tour.

The pair visited the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne to talk to sick children and their families, with large crowds turning out.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shook hands with dozens of well-wishers and took time to speak with gathered crowds, offering hugs and waves to others.

Workers also clamoured at the windows of their offices above watching on as the couple walked past.

When asked by a journalist what he was most looking forward to about being Down Under, the prince replied “everything”.

“It’s good to be back,” he said.

The Sussexes touched down in Australia after flying Qantas commercial, first class.

Reports from Sunrise claim the royals were seated in row 3, seats E and F, of the commercial flight, and likely enjoyed the national carrier’s premium service.

The visit marks a big shift for Harry and Meghan who are in Australia on a personal visit, and a significant departure from their prior, lavish official royal visit back in 2018.

On Tuesday, the couple were swept away for a “private ground transfer”, avoiding the general public inside the international airport.

Speaking to Sunrise, one woman who saw Meghan on the flight said: “I don’t like her at all. Don’t come here in Australia.”

Another revealed she spoke to the royal couple, welcoming them to Australia and speaking about the couple’s children.

Organisers of a three-day women’s retreat say Meghan will headline the exclusive event - pitched as a “girls weekend like no other” - while Harry is set to deliver a keynote speech on workplace mental health at a Melbourne summit.

Tickets to the retreat start at $2699, while in-person attendance at the summit will set punters back about $1000 or more.

The privately funded trip is not an official royal tour, with the couple no longer working members of the royal family after renouncing their status and moving to the US in 2020.

But for Giselle Bastin, a Flinders University associate professor and expert on the British royal family, the decision to use their titles to pursue private interests will be perceived by many as a conflict of interest.

“It’s well known that the Sussexes are in dire need of income and so a staging of a quasi-royal tour to Australia is being regarded as a rather desperate attempt to monetise their status as royalty,” she told AAP.

“During the 2018 tour, Meghan was overheard to say that she couldn’t believe she ‘wasn’t being paid for this’, and the irony is that this time she is coming to Australia and being paid.”

Harry and Meghan’s Australian itinerary

• The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will embark on a four-day tour of Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney from Tuesday
• The couple will visit Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital, the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum and Whitten Oval, the headquarters of AFL club the Western Bulldogs, for a Movember event
• In Canberra, Prince Harry will visit the Australian War Memorial, meet Indigenous veterans, attend an Invictus Australia reception and participate in the daily Last Post Ceremony
• He will jet back to Melbourne for a guided cultural walk and visit a mental health charity, before giving the keynote speech at the InterEdge Summit
• After arriving in Sydney, the duke and duchess are set to sail around the city’s famous harbour with Invictus Australia and attend the Super Rugby Pacific clash between NSW Waratahs and Moana Pasifika

Why are Harry and Meghan in Australia?

• Commitments brought the duke and duchess to Australia, with the couple using the opportunity to also visit groups that share their values or that they have long supported.
• The trip will focus on mental health, community resilience and support for veterans and their families, alongside private meetings and special projects.
• It is not an official royal tour.

Who is paying for Harry and Meghan in Australia?

• The visit has been privately funded.
• An online petition calling for Australian taxpayers not to foot the bill for policing operations related to the visit has attracted more than 45,000 signatures.
• Security and costs to keep public order were a factor in no walkabouts being scheduled.

What to know about the royal couple since their official royal visit

• The pair visited Australia in 2018 as part of a 16-day tour of the Pacific, shortly after their wedding.
• Their presence attracted large crowds and was considered a success.
• In 2020, the duke and duchess announced they would step back as “senior” members of the British royal family and work to become financially independent.
• They retained their titles but are no longer working members of the royal family.
• The couple relocated to Montecito, California, before welcoming their second child, Lilibet, in 2021.

- with AAP