Casual royals land for start of tour
Prince Harry and his new bride Meghan have arrived in Sydney a day before kicking off their first overseas tour as a royal couple.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex touched down just after 7am on a overcast Sydney morning after flying in from Singapore on a Qantas flight. It had been thought they had arrived at 6am on a British Airways flight, but it later emerged they were on the Qantas flight.
Holding hands and casually dressed, the couple walked out a back entrance and got into a car. Meghan, wearing skinny black pants and black, burgundy trimmed coat, was smiling and clutching folders, while Harry gave a thumbs up to bystanders.
A police motorcade whisked them away just after 7.40am to Admiralty House where dozens of locals were waiting to greet them.
The royal couple waved at them as they drove through the gates the governor- general’s Sydney residence just after 8am.
They will spend the day recovering from the flight and prepare for their first full day of engagements today.
They will be officially welcomed by Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove before visiting Taronga Zoo and the Sydney Opera House.
They have 76 engagements across 16 days in Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand, which will include Sydney, Dubbo, Melbourne and Queensland’s Fraser Island..
The tour coincides with the Invictus Games in Sydney, which run from October 20-28.
The sporting event founded by Prince Harry in 2014 gives sick and injured service personnel and veterans the opportunity to compete in sports such as wheelchair basketball and sitting volleyball.
The couple will mark the games’ launch and closing ceremony in Sydney. – AAP