'Performative Nonsense': Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Accused of 'Exploiting Sick Kids' During Hospital Visit on 'Pseudo-Royal' Australian Tour

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle sparked a fresh firestorm upon touching down in Australia for their pseudo-royal tour, heading straight for a highly publicized visit to a Melbourne children’s hospital, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

The duo posed with visibly sick children at the Royal Children's Hospital for a media opportunity, as cameras and phones captured the couple posing alongside the youngsters, giving hugs and taking selfies, in what critics called "performative nonsense" while "exploiting sick kids."

Harry, 41, and Markle, 44, chose a location with a very storied royal history to mark their first appearance in Australia since their 2018 tour as royal newlyweds.

The now-private citizens toured the hospital the prince's late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, first visited in 1963. She returned in 2011, along with her husband, Prince Philip, to officially open the hospital on its current site.

Harry's parents, King Charles III and his late ex-wife, Princess Diana, also toured the Royal Children's Hospital during their 1985 tour of Australia.

The Sussexes toured the facility as private citizens after quitting the royal family in 2020, but were given the type of welcome afforded to foreign dignitaries on April 14.

The couple worked in a massive atrium filled with a line of children in wheelchairs, while others remained seated, as parents and curious staff packed the area.

Several kids had bald heads from chemotherapy, some were still in their pajamas, and others remained hooked up to machines.

One girl revealed she was in the hospital battling leukemia after relapsing for the fourth time, as unmasked Harry and Markle made their way down the group, getting close for hugs and photos with the ailing youngsters.

A four-year-old named Lily whipped up a card for the duo with "short notice," according to 9 News Australia,

"I just loved Meghan's dress, it was so pretty," the little girl told the outlet about meeting Markle.

Critics, however, slammed Harry and Markle on X for using the children as "props" during their faux-royal tour Down Under.

"Truly sickening to put all those babies, some with compromised immune systems, in the room for a photo op," one user sneered on X.

"I have no words. The Royal Children's Hospital is a much-loved place in the hearts of Victorians. I am disgusted that they used this place to PR grift!" a second person huffed about the publicity-hungry couple.

"They've just got off a commercial flight and visit sick kiddies. Wow," a third griped about how the pair headed to the hospital immediately after landing in Melbourne.

"So their own children are too important for anyone to have seen their faces, yet these poor children are fine to be used as props. Absolutely disgusting," a fourth user pointed out about how Harry and Markle refuse to allow their kids Archie and Lilibet to have their faces shown.

Harry and Markle continued on with more media-friendly events after leaving the hospital.

The duo was positively beaming as reporters clamored for soundbites as the pair arrived at the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum, another stop on their faux-royal tour, complete with another pricey outfit change for the former actress.

Several critics sounded off online that the grinning pair seem to have got what they wanted all along in their initial half-in, half-out demand before quitting the royal family. While the queen flatly turned the prospect down, the visits had all of the trappings and security for royals and not those of private citizens, which is what Harry and Markle are today.