Prince Harry, Meghan Markle Follow Princess Diana’s Footsteps With First Official Tour

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will be following in Princess Diana footsteps with their first official tour to Australia.

Princess Diana and Prince Charles’ first official tour after they tied the knot also took place in Australia and New Zealand. During that trip, the Prince and Princess of Wales spent 41 days overseas. Prince William and Kate Middleton also went to Australia and New Zealand for 18 days in 2012.

On Sunday, Kensington Palace announced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will also be heading to Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga and New Zealand. The royal couple’s trip to Australia will be connected to this year’s Invictus Games, which will be held from Oct. 20 to 27.

Last year, Prince Harry and Markle made their first official outing at the Invictus Games in Toronto.

“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will undertake an official visit to Australia, Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga, and New Zealand in the autumn. Their Royal Highnesses have been invited to visit the Realms of Australia and New Zealand by the countries’ respective governments. The Duke and Duchess will visit the Commonwealth countries of Fiji and Tonga at the request of the Foreign Commonwealth Office,” the palace said in a statement.

According to People, it is important for Markle to take a key role in the Commonwealth alongside her husband. Since marrying Prince Harry on May 19, Markle has already booked her first solo outing with Queen Elizabeth II. The two royals will be traveling to Cheshire on June 14.

Ingrid Seward, the author of the book “Queen and Prince Philip, My Husband and I,” claimed that there’s a reason why the Queen chose Markle to accompany her on her trip.

She told the publication, “The Queen knows the potential pitfalls of not giving [new members] a guiding hand. It’s all about the monarchy. She can’t expect Meghan to know everything without being shown. She doesn’t want 70 years of hard work to be for nothing. I’m sure she feels Meghan needs a steadying hand in these early days.”