The Duke and Duchess of Sussex explore Australia’s favourite island paradise. Photos: Penny Bradfield, Luke Marsden and Tourism and Events Queensland.
It’s been a whirlwind tour for the royals this week who have travelled to Australia to officially open the 2018 Invictus Games. But under the hot Queensland sun, the Duke and Duchess were reunited yesterday on Fraser Island, where it is rumoured the pair spent the night one one of the island’s luxury private homes at the Kingfisher Bay Resort.
Drawing crowds on the Kingfisher Bay jetty, the royal couple briefly separated once again while Prince Harry carried out official duties, leaving Meghan to take in the local sights aboard a whale watching boat.
While Meghan rested up, the Duke of Sussex made his way through the island, stopping to watch a ‘Welcome to Country’ at Pile Valley, before resuming official duties revealing the Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy Initiative plaque.
The initiative aims to raise awareness of forests like those on Fraser Island, and the increasing need for preservation. Fraser Island is the world’s largest sand island and home to a rich and unique biodiversity.
“World heritage listed areas are named for their exceptional beauty and biodiversity. Their destruction can, and is, having devastating consequences. It’s more important than ever to protect these forests. Put simply, without them we don’t survive,” the Duke of Sussex said in an official speech to locals and environmental officers.
A local Butchulla elder greeted Prince Harry as he made his way to Lake Mackenzie, which holds a special cultural significance for locals. Considered to be sacred, Lake Mackenzie which means “waters of wisdom”, contains some of the state’s most pristine and pure drinking water.
Walking along the shore, Prince Harry cupped his hands to drink from the lake, as locals performed a cultural ceremony, washing his feet using foliage from the now 200,00-acre protected rainforest.
After meeting local Indigenous Australians, Prince Harry made his way back to Meghan aboard the Tasman Venture whale-watching boat for a meet-and-greet with the public.
The couple were joined by Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk who met with the local Butchulla children, before retiring to their private retreat on the island.
