The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have touched down on Australian soil as they prepare to front a whirlwind round of private events.
The first stop of their four-day visit - at Melbourne's Royal Children's Hospital - reflects the couple's oft-cited concern and involvement in youth and frontline services.
The second - at a centre delivering homeless services for women - parallels Meghan's longstanding commitment to community-led support for vulnerable women.
But other planned appearances are decidedly more commercial.
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 North America 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."
During their headline-grabbing trip almost a decade earlier, adoring crowds clamoured to catch a glimpse of the newlyweds and much of the nation gushed as news of Meghan's pregnancy was announced.
"By contrast in 2026, the Sussexes have ceased to be working royals and have used media platforms to air their grievances about the royal family," Assoc Prof Bastin said.
"They are thought to have cast a shadow over the final years of the late Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh, and for this they have attracted the ire of many a royal follower."
Adding to the shift in public sentiment has been police confirmation taxpayers will cover additional security costs and public safety operations, contradicting repeated assurances from the couple’s team that the visit would be entirely privately funded.
An online petition calling for Australian taxpayers not to foot the bill has attracted more than 45,000 signatures.
"I imagine many Australians will feel offended by being used as a backdrop for a tour by a couple who are monetising their royal status for self-gain and not for the purpose of strengthening the ties between Australia and the monarchy," Assoc Prof Bastin said.
And what is next for Brand Sussex?
"Increased debt, I imagine, and not much money for jam," the royal expert said.
