Harry and Meghan attend Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne in whirlwind four-day trip

Harry and Meghan have been welcomed to Melbourne with a flurry of bright colours and overjoyed kids as they mark the first stop of their whirlwind trip to Australia.

The couple will visit Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra over the next four days on the unofficial visit.

Their first stop was to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, where they were greeted by an enormous crowd.

One overjoyed four year old patient, named Lily, greeted the former royal pair with a handmade welcome sign and a presented the Duchess with a flower and a hug.

She wore a sleek ponytail and donned a navy blue belted dress as she and the Duke of Sussex waved to the crowd of excited fans and patients of the hospital.

The former Royal couple spent the morning meeting patients and hospital staff, taking photos with the public as they kicked off their short trip to the state’s capital.

Some children were armed with artwork, others handing over toys and mementos for the Duke and Duchess, who couldn’t contain their smiles as they met with the children and hospital staff.

Alongside other hospital patients, the Duke and Duchess participated in a garden therapy session where the Duke was asked if he would take a gumtree home.

The former Royal reportedly joked back that he “would, but I think I’d probably get arrested at some point.”

Christina Parkes, University of Melbourne academic and mother to Adelaide, a 13 year old patient at the hospital, was embraced by the Duke when they entered.

“I cannot overstate how important the work is that they do here at the Children’s Hospital because my daughter wouldn’t be here without them.” she told the Press Association.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to see the couple,” she said, congratulating their visit to Australia.

Visiting the Royal Children’s Hospital has become a tradition for members of the Royal Family.

Prince Harry’s late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, officially opened the hospital in Parkville in 1963, and returned to the facility in 2011 to open another wing of the hospital.

“Harry’s grandmother actually opened the hospital originally, and her portrait and his grandfather’s portrait are in the hallway.” Ms Parkes said.

Prince Harry’s parents, the then Prince and Princess of Wales, also attended the Royal Children’s Hospital in 1985, where they met with sick and injured kids.

Maya, 17, who met with the Duke and Duchess, celebrated the hospital’s “amazing” work.

She told the Press Association that their visit “means a lot.

“Just to know that they’re worried about us, they love us, just to know that they love Australia and Melbourne, it’s really nice,” she continued.

After meeting and greeting hospital patients, the Duchess’ next stop was a Melbourne women's refuge run by McAuley Community Services for Women.

Donning an apron over her navy dress, the former royal served Frittata at the centre that supports women and children through challenges like family violence and homelessness.

Meghan only joined those eating at a large communal table after asking “is anyone else hungry?”

As she ate, she reportedly said the couple “landed here this morning so my jet lag hasn’t quite hit yet.”

Passengers shocked by Harry and Meghan’s commercial flight

Clueless passengers on a Qantas flight that landed in Melbourne on Tuesday morning had no idea they were sitting near Harry and Meghan.

The pair, who flew on a commercial Qantas flight in business class seats, were seen landing in Melbourne Airport at 6am.

Disembarking the aircraft, other passengers were dumbfounded when they saw the former royal couple slip past other passengers flanked by heavy security.

One passenger told Today they pair “basically slipped off pretty quickly off the aircraft”.

Another said the couple were “super friendly around the toilet areas”.

Another passenger told 7News they had “no idea” they were seated directly in front of the controversial couple as they landed in the Victorian capital.

Ex-royal couple’s whirlwind trip Down Under

Despite their packed agenda and travelling under their titles the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, this is not an official royal tour.

They are no longer working members of the Royal Family.

Unlike royal tours, where the couple can interact with members of the public, they are focusing their attention on services promoting mental health, community resilience and Australian veterans.

The Duke and Duchess will kick off the trip with visit to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, followed by a meeting with families of veterans and artists at the Australian National Veterans’ Art Museum in the afternoon.

Prince Harry will visit the country’s capital on Wednesday, where he’ll pay a visit to the Australian War Memorial, meet Indigenous veterans, attend an Invictus Games reception and the Last Post Ceremony.

On Thursday, the pair will attend several events, including a guided cultural walk through significant Aboriginal sites in the Melbourne CBD and mental health engagements at Swinburne University.

In the afternoon, the pair will take part in the InterEdge Summit, where Harry will deliver a keynote speech.

They will then jet off to Sydney, where they’ll sail around Sydney Harbour alongside the Australian Invictus team before watching the NSW Waratahs face against the Moana Pasidikas at Allianz Stadium.

The Duke of Sussex is the founder and patron of the Invictus Games – a multi-sport event for wounded, injured and sick veterans founded in 2014.

Meghan is also the headline attraction at a luxury women’s wellness event in Sydney on the weekend.

Tickets for the exclusive wellness event start at $2699, co-hosted by Gemma O’Neill, host of the podcast Her Best Life and manager of Jackie ‘O’ Henderson.

This is their first visit to Australia since 2018, when the newlyweds undertook a successful official visit, where they announced Meghan was pregnant with their first child, Archie.

Their children Archie and Lilibet are not joining their parents on this trip to Australia, a spokesman said.