It took less than five days for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s planned trip to Australia to be completely hijacked by royalists, royal commentators and at least one royal court. Prince Harry and Meghan really are the center of their world, but I kind of wish that these people would find something more constructive to do with their time? Alas, thousands of people have now signed a Change.org petition demanding that no Australian taxpayer dollars go towards supporting or protecting Harry and Meghan in Australia. Jesus, these people.
Australians are not happy about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s upcoming trip Down Under and don’t want their tax dollars to support the trip in any way. Jaws dropped in Oz when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced they were headed to Australia for what they called a series of “private, business and philanthropic engagements.”
Harry will be the keynote speaker at the InterEdge in Melbourne Psychosocial Safety Summit (where people are being charged upwards of $1500 to attend and Harry will likely collect his $50,000 speaking fee) while Meghan is going to be the guest of honor at a three-day “Girls’ Weekend” beach retreat in Sydney… for wealthy women.
But outside of this select crowd, regular Australians are furious about the duo’s trip.
On Harry and Meghan’s last visit to Australia, during their official royal tour in 2018, Meghan ruffled Aussies feathers the wrong way. Royal author Valentine Low, in his book “Courtiers,” claimed Meghan “failed to understand the point of all those walkabouts” and was overheard saying, upon seeing throngs of fans outside the Sydney Opera House: “What are they all doing here? It’s silly” to which staff had to explain that, actually, people turn out because they respect the monarchy.
Then there’s the now-infamous quote: “I can’t believe I’m not getting paid for this” (to shake hands and speak with people).
And Aussies are still mad. Especially as no one has come out and said who will be paying for the duo’s trip — or their security, which will likely include a police escort.
A Change.Org petition was launched this week, noting:
“Prince Harry and Meghan are planning a private visit to Australia in April 2026. If they come as private individuals, Australian taxpayers must not be expected to fund security, logistics or government coordination. Their visit is understood to involve media appearances, business activities and private events. Since stepping down from royal duties in 2020, Harry and Meghan no longer represent the Crown and now operate private commercial ventures from the United States. Because of this, any visit to Australia must be treated strictly as a private trip.
At a time when Australians are facing serious cost of living pressures, public resources must be used responsibly. Taxpayer-funded security, government coordination or any form of official status should not be provided for a private visit.
Reasons:
They voluntarily resigned from royal duties and forfeited official privileges
Their visit is reportedly connected to private business and media activities
Security and government coordination would come at significant public cost
Australia should reserve official support for working royals on official tours
Taxpayers should not fund a private celebrity visit
If Harry and Meghan choose to visit Australia, they should do so as private individuals without taxpayer-funded support or official treatment.”So far, the petition has garnered over 4,500 signatures. Ouch. I reached out to reps for Meghan and Harry and did not hear back.
I included the stuff from Valentine Low because that’s been cited repeatedly as “evidence” that Meghan hates Australia. Low repeated those manufactured quotes years after the fact when he acted as stenographer to Kensington Palace. Low was, after all, the one who got the exclusive on Jason Knauf’s infamous “Meghan is bullying staffers by looking at them” memo. The Sussexes’ 2018 South Pacific tour broke something in Prince William and Kate’s brains and they’ve spent eight years trying to reengineer “reasons why Harry and Meghan’s tour wasn’t a huge success.” That’s what the KP clownshow came up with – Meghan didn’t understand walkabouts and she thought she should be paid! The dumbest oppo dump ever.
As for the Change.org petition… imagine throwing a tantrum-via-petition over two people visiting your country privately to do some business and charity work. It’s even funnier when you consider that the left-behind Windsors’ popularity is in the toilet in Australia.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, poster courtesy of Instagram.
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- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, CANADA ** Sydney, AUSTRALIA – Prince Harry and pregnant Meghan Markle step out in Sydney for Day One of the royal tour of Australia. Pictured: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 16 OCTOBER 2018 BYLINE MUST READ: MTRX / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, CANADA ** Melbourne, AUSTRALIA – Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attends “This Girl Can” campaign at Government House on October 18, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are on their official 16-day Autumn tour visiting cities in Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand. Pictured: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 17 OCTOBER 2018 BYLINE MUST READ: Vantagenews / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, CANADA ** Sydney, AUSTRALIA – The Duke of Sussex and Duchess of Sussex visit Bondi Beach in Sydney on Day Four of the Royal Tour. Meghan Markle looks glowing just days after announcing her pregnancy with Prince Harry. Pictured: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 18 OCTOBER 2018 BYLINE MUST READ: Backgrid AU / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES ** Fiji, FIJI – Prince Harry and Meghan Markle out together in Fiji on day nine of the Royal tour of Australia. on a visit at the University of the South Pacific in Suva. Pregnant Meghan Markle was rushed out of a marketplace in Suva, the Fijian capital, by her bodyguards following a security scare. Pictured: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 24 OCTOBER 2018 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, CANADA ** Tonga, FRENCH POYNESIA – A windswept Duchess of Sussex arrives with the Duke of Sussex in Tonga. The royal couple were met by Her Royal Highness, Princess Angelika Latufuipeka. Pictured: Duke of Sussex, Duchess of Sussex BACKGRID USA 25 OCTOBER 2018 BYLINE MUST READ: Vantagenews / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, CANADA ** Fua’amotu, FRENCH POYNESIA – A windswept Duchess of Sussex arrives with the Duke of Sussex in Tonga. The royal couple were met by Her Royal Highness, Princess Angelika Latufuipeka. Pictured: Duke of Sussex, Duchess of Sussex BACKGRID USA 24 OCTOBER 2018 BYLINE MUST READ: Vantagenews / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES, CANADA ** Wellington, NEW ZEALAND – The Duke of Sussex and Duchess of Sussex attend a traditional welcome ceremony on the lawns of Government House in Wellington, New Zealand. Their Royal Highnesses enjoyed a hongi with the Governor-General’s Kuia and Kaumātua (Māori elders), before the pōwhiri, which included a haka performed by members of the New Zealand Armed Forces. Pictured: Prince Harry, Meghan Markle BACKGRID USA 27 OCTOBER 2018 BYLINE MUST READ: Vantagenews / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
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- ** RIGHTS: ONLY UNITED STATES ** Sydney, AUSTRALIA – The Royal tour of Australia comes to an end for HRH The Duke and Duchess of Sussex as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are pictured boarding their flight to New Zealand from Sydney. Pictured: Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex BACKGRID USA 28 OCTOBER 2018 BYLINE MUST READ: MediaPunch / BACKGRID USA: +1 310 798 9111 / usasales@backgrid.com UK: +44 208 344 2007 / uksales@backgrid.com *UK Clients – Pictures Containing Children Please Pixelate Face Prior To Publication*
Derangers have no lives. They sign petitions, trash the candles or jam from As Ever, complain and grouse when the Sussexes have appearances.
Yeah. How many of those signatures belong to candle-wick-puller Dan Woowooowoottton and his catfishing aliases? Suposedly change.org uses various security tools (verifiable sigs, captcha, traffic analysis) but how many of those petition signers are actually Australian taxpayers?
Those quotes are laughably made ups Cartoon villain nonsense.
Honestly, how are these people not embarrassed down to their souls? I cannot imagine disliking anyone who is just going about their business this much. Is it the only thing they think about? Is Meghan sincerely keeping these creatures up at night? Don’t they have loved ones who care about them?
truly these people, low, everyone are evil because they are acting like they want to them never go anywhere – they should live in boxes to be yelled at by the press until they die.
they are private citizens; they can go to australia or any country they can get a visa to if they want. I wish they didn’t have to announce anything in advance and could just travel places.
I don’t know who they think that this is a bad look for, but it’s definitely not Harry and Meghan. Australia has a population close to 30 million people so 4,500 isn’t a ton, especially when I’m sure a vast majority of those people don’t live in Australia.
But beyond that nonsense, you are actively asking that VIPs not be protected, as they come to boost the economy by attending events, staying in hotels, encouraging people to visit the areas where they will be spending money boosting the economy as well. I swear if I was a business owner or a philanthropist I would be so pissed with this nonsense. Yesterday they were calling an event organized as mediocre, now they don’t want police protection for VIPs, all because two people 10,000 mi away who haven’t been to your country in over a decade or too lazy to just do some work on their own.
It’s around 27.5M, excluding those overseas, but I get your point.
Having said that, we do not want to fund the British royals, either. These protests spring up every time there is a royal visit.
Frederik and Mary are arriving Saturday and Mary will no doubt take the chance to visit family in Tasmania. We will fund the security for that. Let’s see if there are any protests. There is no reason for F&M to visit Australia for trade discussions. The politicians can do it without them. It’s another opportunistic visit from Mary, who just can’t leave Australian behind.
Hmmm…. Maybe they should ask the same when Zara and her idiot husband come to do business!!! This is just ridiculous!! This is a private visit not a royal tour!!
They only visit Queensland, and trust me, the rest of Australians find Qld a joke. 😉
The Australian visit by the Sussexes will be a success. The visit will be low key and the Sussexes will accomplish their goals. Gutter rats live in misery and try to project their misery on others. All the screaming and hollering in the world does not effect this couple because they have been living with it since 2020
This seems to have BS (Bulletproof Sunshine)’s claw marks all over it:
–Job one: protect the heir from Epstein fallout and any other crises by distraction, preferably with negative stories about the Sussexes
–Can’t be easily traced back to KP (anyone can start a change.org petition), unlike the Sentebale debacle
–Throws red meat to the rota and British tabloids, bonus points if Murdoch does his job and amplifies it with his Australian media. Stories for weeks, and it’ll be included in every story about the Sussexes’ trip to Australia for certain
–As I said, what Harry and Meghan need most are positive narratives out there already weeks ago timed with the announcement that they were going to Australia, run like a political campaign….sigh, Meredith, you are missed
Their trip will be a success no matter what because of who they are and what they bring to the table, especially to their charities and business interests. But it won’t be read nearly as positive as it should be with this kind of negative media noise, like mines lining their path. A well-thought-out and executed strategy would really help
@LadyEsther This is not dominating the news anywhere. It’s literally just some trolls and tabloids and few rightwing news sites. I don’t feel Harry and Meghan need to do anything at this stage because there has been zero indication the taxpayer would pay for the trip and a silly petition demanding that something that hasn’t been asked for doesn’t happen is not going to do anything. I honestly don’t think most Australians care or are paying attention to these deranged people.
I don’t think they need to do anything, I just don’t think this type of stuff is hitting anymore. I appreciated Meredith for how she navigated the nonsense of last year, with the launch of With Love Megan and As Ever, but things have changed.
They’ve been running the exact same playbook for 6 years. Harry and Meghan are failures together and separately. Harry is very unhappy. Everyone hates them. Harry wants to come back and be a working royal.
Meanwhile though in the last 5 months you have photos dropping every week or emails showing just how intrinsically connected right up until just about his death Andrew and Fergie was with epstein. You have Kate skinning and grinning with Trump who’s busy dancing to YMCA while countries are burning and oil is up it’s over $100 a barrel. You have the BRF being booed when anyone bothers to show up.
This type of stuff just seems stupid. Everyone isn’t going to like them, people are too dug in for that at this point. But I do think a lot of people are at the point where they’re just like oh my God this again? We have seen literally no evidence that all of this negative bombardment is impacting their long-term ability to operate in a philanthropic or financial professional sense. Their documentary literally just got picked up, they were invited to Jordan by WHO. As Ever is successful enough for Meghan not to need Netflix anymore.
Australia’s population exceeds 28m. Just 4,500 deranger signatories is tiny. Pathetic even. Even if it rises to 10k, so what? At least that many will come out to see them on their travel and engagement routes.
A good list to have the names of for security reasons..
Objecting to security and law enforcement coordination for people under high threat levels is just evil business. No one’s taxes will increase because people who need protection are getting it.
Brassy Rebel that’s exactly what I was thinking. This is just whiny people whining because they desperately need something to be angry about. As an American, there are people who visit here all of the time and receive protection and never have I cared about it because no one should ever enter a space where they aren’t safe and protected. People who sign such petitions are horrible people who don’t value other people’s lives and then to justify it because of the off chance their taxes might increase an unknown fraction, is a barometer of who they are and says nothing about the Sussexes or any other person traveling to places where they may need protection. It takes truly evil people who want people who are at a high threat level to not receive protection and that isn’t a reflection on the Sussexes no matter how many articles they write like this.
Also I wouldn’t be at all surprised if derangers brigaded this petition using multiple names, like they do polls about the Sussexes.
27.6M at June 2025. Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, released December 2025.
I mean….Harry and Meghan pay for their own security. I don’t even get what they are saying here? No government should coordinate with them when they know that Harry has a price on his head? Are they insane? The only country that won’t let him pay for security is the UK and based on Spare and what he has said, they just want to be able to pay for their own security because his family left him unprotected after he dared to stand up for his Black wife.
Low’s quotes are disgusting.
While W&K have enthusiastically carried the “let’s smear the Sussexes” banner for the last several years, that 2018 Oceania tour didn’t just break their brain, it did the same for Charles. For him, it was deja vu all over again, reminiscent of his painful experience coming in second to Diana in Australia in the attention sweepstakes. H&M showed they were hugely popular, and that was a threat to very jealous Charles, who was seeing himself potentially overshadowed once again, having learned nothing from his experience with Diana. Will just flat out hated Harry, and Kate was jealous of Meghan, but in 2018, he/they didn’t have the clout that Charles had, and the negative pile on for Harry, and especially Meghan, that followed that tour was initiated and kept going, at least early on, by him. Remember too, that it was Edward Young, the Bee, that drove the outcome of the Sandringham summit. He was technically TQ’s private secretary, but was in reality Charles’ man, having been maneuvered into his position after Charles and Andrew succeeded in driving out Geidt. At this point though, looks like W&K are driving the train; perhaps Charles has finally learned a little something along the way about why driving out H&M wasn’t the best choice.
Change.org is a joke really. I remember during the lead up to Meghan and Harry’s wedding, there were petitions to stop the wedding, then petitions to force a divorce (thinking the queen could do that), then about the Sussex title, then this, then that.
I saw those petitions through the Daily Fail. Derangers wanted to stop the wedding and then “postpone it” (aka cancel it) when her father allegedly was “sick.”
Racist Derangers are always doing some petition about Harry & Meghan & have been since the engagement was announced – what else is new. The authorities will make sure the public events they attend are safe and they will deal.
That Valentine low quote about Meghan isn’t remotely realistic. I mean Meghan was in showbiz & theres clips of her greeting fans lined up in the street to see her and get an autograph after an appearance on the Today show and after the golden globes. She has always spoken of being grateful for fan support.
Meghan has been to film premieres including for the hunger games in London when fans line up to see their favourite stars. So you expect me to believe she would suddenly be like wth are people lined up to see famous people?! Make it make sense. Plus this was the woman who spotted fans in the crowd in New Zealand and in sandringham in 2018 & was so gagged to see them.
That Valentine low quote was an obvious lie & I wish Meghan had pushed back on direct comments attributed to her in some of these royalist books in the last few years like how Harry denied punching Andrew or denied that ridiculous lie Tina brown spewed about Harry’s Africa child.
ABRITGUEST that’s why it’s obvious to anyone who does a basic google search that Valentine Low claims is a liar. Meghan’s history of being the more personable cast member on Suits when it came to interacting with fans on the street is well documented. Some of her former cast mates have even said that out of all of them, Meghan was the one most likely to go beyond the usual greeting. There are too many videos of Meghan entering or exiting a place for an interview or meeting and she stops to talk, sign autographs and take photos with their fans. There are even videos when she is with other cast mates and Meghan was the one who broke away to go beyond the gracious greeting of smiling and saying hi. All of her former cast mates are great people, but of all of them Meghan was the one that was more approachable to fans and the media in Canada. Harry and Meghan have said a couple of times that they see these interactions as fans “moment” and acknowledging them “is the least they can do”.
This will backfire badly when Republic posts a petition calling for a vote to stop paying for the monarchy in the UK. The crisis managers don’t seem to be doing much good.
Famous people visit Australia all the time for a variety of reasons – business/work, philanthropy, vacation. are there change.org petitions for them as well?
I’m sure H&M will be provided appropriate security and that their personal security will have access to threats etc. No one besides the UK wants anything happening to them on their soil.
Bill Gates travels with his own security. Royal visits are always contentious here. It’s not restricted to H&M. Even before William got married, people complained about costs of his solo visit. Maybe that’s why they don’t visit – unwanted. LOL.
To be fair so do Meghan and Harry and I’m sure Bill Gates gets VIP protection. Because no government wants any major celebrity harmed on their soil. That’s just law enforcement 101.
As for protesting royal visits that’s fine and justifiable but this isn’t a royal visit. They aren’t doing walkabouts and closing down streets. Is not comparable to Frederick and Mary coming as reigning monarchs, it’s comparable to Rihanna coming and getting the police escort, which she absolutely would.
Fred and Mary have no constitutional role in this country. They are coming so that Mary can visit her family in Tasmania. The security will extend there, when it shouldn’t. I suppose she is an Internationally Protected Person.
Bill Gates doesn’t get Police protection. This point was made on one of his visits a few years ago. He travels to Australia quite often, including to watch the tennis. He might only get standard protection as anyone if he was receiving unwanted attention. He would likely get some security when he’s at the Australian Open, but that is security for the entire event and for all VIPs, including politicians.
Just to add, we are a very small country in population. If we afforded police protection to every celebrity that visits, police would get nothing else done re criminal activity to protect domestic taxpayers. I’ve never heard of a garden variety celebrity getting a police escort. There would have to be a specific reason.
As I said, event-specific security would be available to VIPs, and they always get special treatment at Sydney Airport. But again, that is airport security and staff, it’s not owned by taxpayers anymore. Roads might get blocked off for certain protests or events, but our police don’t act as personal security guards for celebrities anymore than they do to protect the general population at high risk events. Visiting dignitaries are another thing altogether.
We just had a terrorist attack at Bondi Beach in which many members of our Jewish community were killed. There were criticisms about the time it took the police to arrive. There is no way the Australian public would tolerate personal police security for celebrities. There just aren’t enough police for that.
@Convict I mean this is essentially the point everyone is making though. H&M will get the appropriate security and more importantly coordination with their own security team any other VIP would get, so framing it like it would be the same cost wise as the 2018 visit is disingenuous. They aren’t there to do walkabouts and to meet with the prime minister in an official capacity. And if anyone honestly believes that they are not going to get a police escort from the airport, and events regardless of what media leaks may say I just don’t even know what to tell them.
Again no one’s disputing the right of Australians to be upset on how their tax dollars are spent, but this stuff is pretty rote for how celebrities are treated.
As for F&M my point was as Reigning monarchs of another country they would and will get VVIP treatment because the government absolutely doesn’t want anything to happen to them on Australian soil, regardless of whether or not the trip is an official trip as representatives of another country or simply because Queen Mary is Australian. People can ( and should!) protest if they feel that is an undue amount of money going there, with no real benefit to everyday Australians that could be allocated elsewhere, but they’re still going to be protected.
@Dee2 exactly. I dont think bill gates is getting the kind of death threats that H&M are, but I could be wrong.
I think there’s a misunderstanding about what many of us mean when we say australia will provide them security. they’re not providing them with 30 armed police officers for every minute of their stay. but I’m sure Australian law enforcement and VIP security will liase with H&M’s team and threats will be investigated and appropriate measures taken. And yes, they will likely be given police escort to any high profile events or the like.
H&M are not garden variety celebrities and the specific reason for their security would be Harry’s role as the son of the British king and the specific nature of threats against them.
And before you say – “no one cares if he’s Charles’ son” – trust me, the government does. No one wants their country to be the next Paris and harry the next Diana.
except for England apparently.
Hilarious. That’s around 0.016% of the population – considering the fact that anyone from any country can sign it … go figure. I bet most Australian citizens don’t even know about this.
I didn’t, read it here first. As I keep saying, most Australians don’t take any notice of the monarchy. Fred and Mary of Denmark visit tomorrow for the week and they are not even coming to Sydney. That will make headlines for a day. But, again, no one I know talks about royals and I move in different circles.
H&M are still part of the royal family. The only ones taking notice are those interested in what they are doing.
There are about 27 million people in Australia. The royal reporters need to calm the fk down. My god.
Valentine Low is also the reporter who boasted that he KNEW (had been told by someone in KP) that Meghan was “struggling” – he actually had known about her suicidal ideation when he decided to spread the lie that she had been a bully. He had known all along and gleefully participated in the smear campaign and helped other reporters to pile on. That man is vile. I feel nauseous each time I see his name and picture his smirking face.
Yeah, he’s appalling.
I honestly wonder if, in quiet moments, people like him regret their lives — more likely, they just throw back a few gins and try to forget how little they’ve contributed to society.
Whoa. So he admitted that he knew she was struggling *and* that someone at KP thought it would be fun to tell a reporter instead of helping her – and he’s proud of piling on, thinking she’d quit (or worse) and that everyone would be so proud of his efforts.
That is vile. They really are all deranged.
The BM, on orders of BP and KP, groomed the public to despise the Sussexes for years. But it’s come back to bite the Windsors in the ghost of Epstein. The rota rats are forced to cover the Andrew angle to look “credible” and the senior royals have to deal with crowds heckling them of what did you know and when did you know it? KP and BP are mad the Sussexes are not going to heckled about Epstein.
Here is an idea: Since private citizens paying their own way to Australia to do charity work are getting this BS – we should set up a change.org petition to make sure any royal who visits, from here forward NOT get tax payer money.
So should WanK visit Australia….let’s go change.org.
Charles visits America? Change.org
Sophie and Ed go to Canada? Change.org!
WanK go on vacation in Switzerland? Change.org baby!
Flood the f-ing zone.
(now obviously I am joking but still….the point remains….the REAL vampires on tax dollars never seem to have to deal with any of the shit PRIVATE citizens Harry and Meghan have to deal with and it is deranged. That is the best word for them)
Are all the signers Australians? As this is a private visit has H&M asked for any Australian tax dollars to be spent on them?
The petition was probably brigaded by international trolls. As far as I’m aware Harry and Meghan haven’t asked the government for anything.