INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightReutersThere were lots of flowers.There was lots of cheering
There were lots of gifts for the expected baby, the announcement of which kicked off the tour.There were welcomes from men in grass skirts
and from men with their tongues sticking out
Image copyrightReutersImage caption
There were plenty of excited greetings for Harry and Meghan, from handshakes
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
to the touching of noses and foreheads - a traditional Maori greeting
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
And the couple were treated to a formal powhiri welcome in
speeches and unveilings and cakes (one baked by Meghan), meetings with prime ministers, wreath laying and war memorials.Media captionThe
prince opened his speech in Auckland by greeting the audience in six languagesImage copyrightEPAImage caption
A small
pair of Ugg boots and a cuddly kangaroo were the first baby gifts given to the couple
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage
caption
The duke and duchess also took part in more sombre occasions, including wreath layings
Over the
whole thing one question lingered.Just what are these royal tours forBack in the 50s, when the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh toured the
region after the coronation, they travelled by train across Australia
It was an exhausting trip.They toured the big cities and stopped in or passed through small towns across the vast country
And it's thought that three quarters of the population saw them in the flesh.Back then, before televisions were commonplace, a royal tour
meant that the people could see their sovereign, for the first time, beyond the black and white pictures in newspapers and magazines.And in
an age before global celebrity really existed, let alone beamed into the palms of our hands on Instagram and Twitter feeds, a royal visit
was a huge event.During the Queen's 1957 trip to Paris, such was the crush of people straining to get close, the newspapers reported that
the roads in from Fiji's airport, their single storey homes with corrugated iron roofs a backdrop to the kind of popular adulation that
most of the rest of the world has given up on.Image copyrightReutersImage caption
Thousands lined the streets in Fiji,
with many waving Union and US flags
Image copyrightReutersImage caption
but this proved too much of a
security concern for the duchess, who left a market visit early
In Tonga, a two-day national holiday was declared for the 24
hours of the royal visit, and schoolchildren lined the route into Nuku'alofa, their bright uniforms standing out against the vegetation
behind them.Not many celebrities go to Fiji or Tonga, lovely though both countries are
So a royal tour is a big deal.Image copyrightReutersImage caption
In Tonga, lucky schoolchildren were given the day off
to cheer the couple's arrival
Image copyrightReutersImage caption
And later Tongan artists performed
event to have people this famous visit and do things in public."We don't have that many celebrities back home," an Aussie friend told me in
"This will be a big deal."And so it was.At Australia's Bondi beach the crowds were building from six in the morning.Image
copyrightEPAImage caption
It had been a long wait for some of the crowds who gathered at Bondi Beach in Australia
Image copyrightReutersImage caption
Garlands and bright colours were the order of the day
or grab a few words with, the couple.Image copyrightEPAImage caption
More crowds clamoured to get a picture of the
couple in New Zealand
But when you talk to the people in the crowds about quite why they have waited for hours up against a
crash barrier, loyalty to or interest in the crown is rarely mentioned."Curiosity." "Celebrity-spotting." "My mother used to come." Those
kinds of comments were pretty common
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
The excitement of it all proved too much for some
So is
Heritage'n'Hollywood what the House of Windsor has becomeNo, because there was more to this trip than the walkabouts that so visibly
energise Harry and that Meghan is so good at.There was the Invictus Games in Sydney, the sporting competition for wounded military veterans
that Harry created and has championed.Harry opened and closed the Games, and spoke of an Invictus Generation of men and women who were not
to be pitied for their injuries but instead lauded as an inspiration to us all, in a time of division and acrimony.Image copyrightGetty
ImagesImage caption
Prince Harry took part in the opening and closing ceremony of the Invictus Games
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
and enjoyed watching competitors from the sidelines
Image
copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
There were many hugs and cheers from competitors at the end
There
were countless smaller, often unreported events, charities championed, a spray of royal sparkle rewarding long years of unremarked service
to others.There was Harry's passion for openness about mental health problems, whether it was to military veterans, or Australian farmers
It is not a particularly fashionable cause
But he nags away at it, and makes sure it is highlighted at stop after stop.And there were Meghan's tentative steps into the arena of
She didn't speak much on this tour
Often she seemed like a throwback to another era, the dutiful wife walking behind the royal husband.But when she did we got an idea of the
kinds of causes she will gradually make her own.Media captionMeghan's message of female empowermentImage copyrightAFP/GettyImage caption
The duchess gave speeches, including about the importance of suffrage
And potential pitfalls emerged
too.If Harry is enthused by the crowds at walkabouts, he is often obviously bored at set-piece ceremonials, and has yet to find a way to
mask it.It is surprising to see him scowl his way through events that people have poured time and care into.Image copyrightReutersImage
herself and with Harry by her side - swept her way through occasions that demanded just a bit more of her time
People travelled a long way and waited a long time in Fiji and Tonga to see her, and them
At a couple of events, many were disappointed.And there is Harry's undisguised dislike of the media
He often gives the impression that he would rather carry out a tour like the one just passed with no press or broadcasters present at
all.But like politicians in the pay of the public, modern royalty when out on the job is meant to be open and accountable
And that means accessible too.Because that's what these tours are: the job
Image copyrightPAImage caption
Harry and Meghan found they were fans of koalas in Australia
Image
copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
While perhaps Prince Harry's biggest fan, 98-year-old Daphne Dunne, met him for a
third time
Image copyrightPAImage caption
And a new generation of admirers presented flowers to the
couple
And it is a job that the royals do extraordinarily well - soft-power diplomacy, the projection of British culture and
heritage that yields payback in goodwill, tourism and the promotion of British values.There is no substitute.Neither prime ministers nor pop
stars nor footballers, could pull together the crowds and causes that Harry and Meghan did in this long four country tour.It was, few will
disagree, a job well done.The couple signed off their tour by sharing a photo of Meghan cradling her baby bump - taken by Prince Harry.Image
Copyright kensingtonroyalkensingtonroyalThe tour began with the announcement that they were expecting their first child - cue an array of
baby gifts, including a toy kangaroo, complete with joey, and little Ugg boots from the Australian Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, and
his wife LynnThe couple spent plenty of time meeting the crowds that turned out to meet them, and there was one a memorable
protocol-breaking beard rub and hug from one five-year-old boy in Dubbo, AustraliaAnd one woman from Christchurch, New Zealand, spoke about
how she waited seven hours to meet the duchess, who she says supported her struggles with mental health by chatting to her on
InstagramPrince Harry praised Invictus Games competitors for their part in turning the issue of mental health "from a sad story to an
inspiring one"In Fiji, the duchess spoke about the importance of women getting university education and in Tonga she appeared to get the
giggles while watching a performance by schoolboysThe couple took part in activities on their tour, Meghan showing off her impressive
welly-wanging skills in New Zealand
