Prince Harry and Meghan Markle toured Australia just a year before they left the Royal Family, with a new report revealing it was the “catalyst” for them quitting.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s tour in 2018 became the “catalyst” for them leaving the Firm

The royal tour of Australia in 2018 was, on the surface, a triumph for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, however, behind the scenes, this tour marked the beginning of a deep rift between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Royal Family, a new report claims.

Shortly after their royal wedding, Prince Harry and Meghan toured Australia in conjunction with that year’s Invictus Games in Sydney and made global headlines after Meghan revealed her first pregnancy.

The official visit also included visits to Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand, and they followed in the footsteps of Harry’s parents, as Charles and the late Princess of Wales’s first royal tour was to Australia and New Zealand.

According to a report in Sky News Australia, the Daily Mail royal editor, Russell Myers, says on the couple’s return, they got little “praise and recognition” for the success of the tour.

According to royal experts, the couple believe they had “little praise” for their tour

Mr Myers said: “Australia broke Harry and Meghan and was one of the catalysts for them leaving the Royal Family.”

He added: “She and Harry had expected they would get much more praise and recognition from that royal tour.”

The 16-day trip began in Sydney and includes dozens of official event, with there being a large media and security presence at events.

In their widely publicised 2021 Oprah Winfrey interview, Meghan and Harry themselves would agree “things really changed” after the Australia tour.

Royal reporter Angela Mollard also spoke to Sky News Australia about Meghan’s growing frustration about the lack of praise received. She said: “She was part of a big institution and she wasn’t the hero of it, she was a cog in the wheel and that became clear (after Australia).”

Royal historian Tim Ewart also spoke on the platform to confirm Meghan and Harry’s Australian tour was a huge success.

But within just 18 months of returning, the Sussexes “stepped back” from royal duties, left their Windsor home Frogmore Cottage, and moved to California with baby Archie.

The couple now live in Montecito with Prince Archie, five, and Princess Lilibet, three, after quitting royal duties in 2020.

King Charles’ Australia tour this week is historic, given it will be his first there as reigning monarch, but he has made 16 previous visits to Australia. Charles and Camilla will head to the country on Friday and arrive three days before undertaking any engagements.