Prince Harry and Meghan Markle talk mental health on Australia's Bondi Beach
SYDNEY -- Britain's Prince Harry and wife Meghan are using their tour of Australia to bring attention to causes close to their hearts. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent time with surfers focused on mental well-being on Sydney's famous Bondi Beach. Harry then scaled 1,300 steps to the top of the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge to kick off the fourth Invictus Games.
He started the athletic event in 2014 for injured and sick service members around the world. It's one of 76 engagements Prince Harry and Meghan are expected to attend during a whirlwind 16-day tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.
This royal mania reached a fever pitch after the announcement that Harry and Meghan are expecting a baby. On Friday, the parents-to-be arrived hand-in-hand at Sydney's Bondi Beach where shoes came off along with the formality that usually defines these royal events.
They sat in the sand with a surf group that gathers weekly to discuss their personal struggles for what's meant to be one of the more intimate moments of the trip so far. Mental health is a topic that's important to both Harry and Meghan.
Harry's been very vocal about dealing with the loss of his mother, Princess Diana. He opened up on the beach about the role Meghan has played.
"Harry talked about the fact that he spent a long time to try to find someone to talk to, to have those conversations around mental health and it was really beautiful because they found each other," said surfer Charlotte Connell, who also spoke to Meghan about how she stays healthy.
"She said for her it's yoga, so being on the mat for her is like being in the ocean for us, and at 4:30 am this morning she got up and did yoga," Connell said.
Yoga at 4:30 in the morning – you can call that commitment, or perhaps just jet lag. The royal couple is back in the city Friday night ahead of Saturday's opening ceremony for the Invictus Games.