Meghan Markle Reportedly Said “I Can’t Believe I’m Not Getting Paid for This” While on Royal Tour in Australia
A new book claims she didn’t get the point of walkabouts.


Get ready for a new spate of royal books this fall—including one that claims, while on tour with husband Prince Harry in Australia in 2018, Meghan Markle said, while on a walkabout, “I can’t believe I’m not getting paid for this.”
The tour—which saw the then newlyweds visit not just Australia but also New Zealand, Fiji, and Tonga—spanned 16 days and seems like a lifetime ago, given all that’s happened since. In his new book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown, Valentine Low, a royal correspondent for The Times, writes that Meghan “failed to understand the point of all those walkabouts” on her first royal tour, per The Mirror.
The couple was popular during the tour, the outlet writes, “with huge crowds turning out to see them as they visited the countries and attended an impressive 76 engagements.” Meghan, writes Low, “enjoyed the attention” and writes that the Duchess of Sussex showed a “refreshingly informal approach to royal visits” which was “a hit with the Australian public.” Low adds that Meghan was seen as “an inspirational role model” during the tour.
“When she turned up at the home of a farming family, she brought some banana bread that she had baked herself,” the book details. “When the couple visited a school to see the work of a program to improve the educational outcomes of young Aboriginals, she was feted as an inspirational role model.”
Yet, Low writes, behind the scenes of the tour, “it was a different story.”
“Although she enjoyed the attention, Meghan failed to understand the point of all those walkabouts, shaking hands with countless strangers,” Low writes. Quoting unnamed members of royal staff, Low claims Meghan said at one point “I can’t believe I’m not getting paid for this.”
The book also quotes someone who was a member of the tour party as saying Meghan wanted to “bring in her people rather than turn to the traditional Buckingham Palace people”—but that proved “very difficult.” Apparently, according to an insider quoted in the book, upon seeing fans waiting outside of the Sydney Opera House, Meghan said to her team “What are they all doing here? It’s silly.”
Stay In The Know
Get exclusive access to fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more.
The team’s response? “They were like ‘They’re here because they admire and support a monarch and an institution that you’re representing.'”
Courtiers hits shelves October 6.

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.
-
Zoë Kravitz Is the Latest New Yorker to Break the Flip-Flop Rule
She makes it look so easy.
-
Who Needs a Blow Dryer? Olivia Palermo's Bob Says No Thanks
Wet hair, don't care.
-
I'm Officially Swapping Baseball Caps for Kendall Jenner's Straw Hat
In true Hollywood form, she's not the only one inspiring me.
-
Why Princess Diana Once "Canceled Lunch" at Kensington Palace to Take Prince William and Prince Harry to McDonald's
A former royal chef revealed the relatable reason Diana took her kids to the popular fast food chain.
-
Prince William and Prince Harry Could Be "Tempted" to Secretly Bid on Their Mother's Outfits in New Auction
Who could blame them?
-
How a "Last-Minute" Message Called an Urgent "Ceasefire" Between Prince Harry and Prince William After Queen Elizabeth Died
"They are better and stronger together than they are apart."
-
How Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Paid Tribute to Princess Diana With Princess Lilibet's 4th Birthday Celebration
The Sussexes spent "two days of pure joy" at Disneyland with their children.
-
Prince William Says Family Can Be a "Mixed Bag" Amid Rift With Prince Harry
The Prince of Wales referenced tough family dynamics during a chat with soldiers.
-
Princess Lilibet Has Prince Harry's Eyes in Adorable New Fourth Birthday Photos
Proud mom Meghan shared some unseen photos of Lili—and she looks just like her dad.
-
All About Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Two Rescue Dogs, Mamma Mia and Pula
Prince Harry says the pair are "emotional support dogs 100 percent, when they're behaving."
-
Exclusive: Meghan Markle on the "Extraordinary Advice" Tina Knowles Gave Her During Special Podcast Episode
The Duchess of Sussex tells 'Marie Claire' what it was like talking business and Beyoncé with Ms. Tina.