Harry and Meghan’s babymoon on paradise island
Mother to be and her prince enjoy spa break during their Australian tour
PREGNANT Meghan Markle places a palm on her stomach as she strolls hand-in-hand with husband Prince Harry in the sunshine of a paradise island. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex enjoyed their “babymoon” stay after the mum-to-be was pampered at a spa hotel. The royal couple, who are a week into their first major international tour together, last night stayed on Fraser Island, off Australia’s eastern Queensland coast. The stunning setting encompasses the world’s largest sand island, stretching 75 miles. The Unesco ecotourism destination has picturesque beaches and swimming sites at Lake McKenzie, Lake Wabby and other freshwater pools for the royals to enjoy. Having felt tired from the beginning of the tour schedule and the jet lag of the journey Down Under, Meghan elected to sit out some engagements on Sunday and yesterday. After leaving Sydney, they travelled to Hervey Bay, in Queensland, and on to Fraser Island. Meghan spent yesterday at the exclusive Kingfisher Bay Resort. A palace source said: “The first trimester for pregnant women is often one of the hardest and it was decided by her and the Duke she needed some well-earned rest. The tour to the rainforest was also incredibly bumpy, so it wouldn’t have been suitable.”
Meanwhile, Prince Harry took the yellow Fraser Island Explorer Tour Bus to River Heads, where he boarded the public barge for a 45-minute crossing to the pristine and unique Fraser Island and his ultimate goal, Pile Valley, and a rainforest which exists on sand.
It is the only rainforest in the world that grows out of the sand, with towering 50m satinay trees.
The Duke was there to mark the forest’s dedication to the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy Initiative, a growing area of protected forests across the organisation’s 53 member states.
His second stop was Lake McKenzie, where a Butchulla elder performed a “welcome-tocountry” ceremony, dipping foliage into the crystal-clear water and washing the Prince’s bare feet.
The dad-to-be said: “K’gari means ‘paradise’ and that is certainly what we’ve experienced today.
“It is up to us now to protect this paradise together.”