Australias divided reception of Harry and Meghan becomes a sore point as couple begin second day of whirlwind tour and mystery surrounds Duchess of Sussexs plans

Harry and Meghan's camp is said to be frustrated by negative headlines that has engulfed their visit even before the Sussexes arrived, a source has told Daily Mail.

Stories about the couple using the trip as a quasi Royal tour while also supporting their commercial interests with paid appearances began long before their Qantas flight touched down in Melbourne on Tuesday morning.

Large crowds gathered at the Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne for the first stop on the couple's whirlwind tour, just hours after they disembarked from the 15-hour flight from Los Angeles.

They spent 90 minutes meeting and taking selfies with young patients before they were given a tour of the wards where they made bedside visits and took part in a therapy program.

But behind the smiles, the Sussexes and their team are understood to be upset about how they've been received in Australia.

They were also said to be surprised by backlash among politicians such as Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson over publicly-funded police protection.

‘To be fair, they have tried to make the trip mostly about charitable endeavours and limit costs,' a source told Daily Mail.

The couple have largely relied on private security and there has been little police presence at their smaller engagements so far.

The source added: 'Prince Harry has always had an affection for Australia and for a long time felt it was a home away from home, having done his gap year here in his youth.

'He in particular is known to keep up with his own press and would be taken aback by some strong reactions in the media and the comment sections.'

The reception from many Aussies online wasn't so warm, a stark contrast from their first visit back in 2018, when they were newly married and expecting their first child.

'Do the kids even know who they are?' one commented on the hospital visit.

Another commented: 'Those flashing lights must be hurting the kids eyes.'

Others pointed out that the couple are no longer working royals and should not be given special treatment or have any of their trip funded by Australian taxpayers.

'The Australian taxpayer should not be out of pocket for this tour. I believe that we are contributing to the cost of protection on this occasion. As they are private citizens, they should be meeting all of their own expenses,' one woman wrote.

Day two of Harry and Meghan's whirlwind tour of Australia is underway.

While the Duke of Sussex has engagements in both Melbourne and Canberra on Wednesday, mystery surrounds Meghan's movements with no events listed on her official itinerary.

Harry will travel to Whitten Oval, the home of AFL club Western Bulldogs for a Movember event.

He will then travel to Canberra to visit the Australian War Memorial, where he will meet Indigenous veterans, attend an Invictus Australia reception and participate in the daily Last Post Ceremony.

It's not Harry's first visit to the Australian War Memorial.

He famously visited the memorial in April 2015, which was his only public appearance before starting a four-week attachment with the Australian army.

'It's always lovely to have anyone visit the Australian War Memorial, but to have someone like Prince Harry, who himself is a veteran and has been here before, to welcome him back, I'm very much looking forward to it,' memorial chief executive Matt Anderson PSM told Sunrise.

'It's a good day for the memorial and a good day for our veterans.'

He has met Harry several times previously, both in Australia and the UK.

'He is very down to earth and is very much about the people,' Mr Anderson said.