On October 15, 2018 the Duke and Duchess of Sussex began their 16-day tour to Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Tonga. That same day, the royal couple announced via Kensington Palace that they were expecting their first child.
Before the Royal tour 2018, support for a Republic in Australia was at 50% and it looked like a Republican revolution was set to take place in the near future.
- The Sussexes visit to Australia resulted in a turn around in public sentiment; Newspoll survey found 10% drop in support for Republic.
- Today only 40% of respondents favour Australia becoming a Republic; the lowest level of Republic support in 25 years.
- “Crowds of that size have not appeared for Queen Elizabeth on any of her trips to Australia (which date back as far as the 1950s), and Harry and ‘Megmania’ easily eclipses the enthusiasm with which William and Kate’s 2014 trip to Australia” says royal expert Tom Sykes. Source in Forbes
Interest in the Royal family activities as a result of Sussex Tour in 2018
- 31.4 million social media interactions
- 211,400 mentions
- 25,900 mentions on the first day alone
Reported by WWD. Women’s Wear Daily is a fashion-industry trade journal sometimes called “the bible of fashion.” WWD delivers information and intelligence on changing trends.
