Prince Harry and Meghan touch down in Sydney for Australian tour

Prince Harry and his new wife Meghan have arrived in Sydney ahead of their first tour of Australia, which will include attending the Invictus Games.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Australia tour

Source: AAP

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 an 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.
Prince Harry poses with family and friends of Invictus athletes in Toronto 2017
Prince Harry poses with family and friends of Invictus athletes in Toronto 2017 Source: Getty Images
The royal couple waved at them as they drove throught 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 on Tuesday.
Tuesday will be the first time for the public to interact with the couple, who were married in May.

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 runs 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.

Harry and Meghan's tour of Australia is seen as a key one for the royal couple who, during a TV interview to mark their engagement last November, spoke of their desire to promote humanitarian causes close to their hearts across Commonwealth member countries including Australia.

The visit comes six months after Prince Charles made his 16th official visit to Australia, primarily to open the 21st Commonwealth Games on Queensland's Gold Coast.

The schedule

October 16: Sydney, Australia

October 17: Dubbo, Australia

October 18: Melbourne, Australia

October 19-21: Sydney, Australia

October 22: Fraser Island, Australia

October 23 -24: Suva, Fiji

October 25: Nadi, Fiji and Nuku'alofa, Tonga

October 26: Nuku'alofa, Tonga and Sydney, Australia

October 27: Sydney, Australia

October 28: Wellington, New Zealand

October 29: Wellington and Abel Tasman, New Zealand

October 30: Auckland, New Zealand

October 31: Rotorua, New Zealand


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