Meghan Markle allegedly complained she wasn’t getting paid for walkabouts during a royal visit to Australia, a new book claims. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent 16 days travelling around Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand on their first royal tour in 2018.
Huge crowds turned out to see the couple as they visited the countries with an impressive 76 engagements, the Mirror reports. A book written by The Times' royal correspondent Valentine Low claims that Meghan, who married Harry in May 2018, "enjoyed the attention" she received but did not understand the point of royal walkabouts.
Mr Low writes in Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown that the Duchess of Sussex showed a "refreshingly informal approach to royal visits" which was "a hit with the Australian public".
He adds that Meghan was seen as "an inspirational role model" during the tour. The book says: "When she turned up at the home of a farming family, she brought some banana bread that she had baked herself.
"When the couple visited a school to see the work of a programme to improve the educational outcomes of young Aboriginals, she was feted as an inspirational role model." However, in an excerpt shared by The Times today, the author writes that behind the scenes of the tour "it was a different story".
The book reads: "Although she enjoyed the attention, Meghan failed to understand the point of all those walkabouts, shaking hands with countless strangers." Quoting unnamed members of staff, the book claims that Meghan was heard saying: "I can't believe I'm not getting paid for this."
'Courtiers' also quotes a member of the tour party who said Meghan wanted to "bring in her people rather than turn to the traditional Buckingham Palace people" - but this was proving "very difficult". A source previously claimed that Meghan was left baffled by the enthusiasm of royal fans.
The insider claimed that upon seeing fans waiting outside the Sydney Opera House, Meghan said to the team: "What are they all doing here? It's silly." They were like, 'They're here because they admire and support a monarch and an institution that you're representing.'"
Courtiers: the Hidden Power Behind the Crown by Valentine Low will be published on October 6 by Headline Books (£20)
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