Royal Tour, Day 12: Meghan and Harry's final day in Sydney

THE Duke and Duchess of Sussex have arrived at Sydney’s Olympic Park to enjoy the final day of the Invictus Games before they bid Australia adieu and fly to New Zealand on Sunday.

The couple arrived at the Quay Centre stadium just after 2pm for the wheelchair basketball final.

Cheerleaders danced and the crowd clapped as the finalists wheeled in for the bronze medal final.

Meghan and Harry made a low key entry to the stadium and slipped into a back row of seating while all eyes were in the US v Netherlands basketball final. With her hair in a loose partial up do and wearing a maroon dress, Meghan looked animated beside her husband who wore an Invictus shirt.

It’s clear who the Californian is rooting for with the Duchess cheering when the US scored a goal to be streak ahead of the Netherlands 4-0.

David Beckham arrived with son Cruz but without any sight of Victoria Beckham. He sat with his son in a stand on the opposite side of the royals.

Dancing in the crowd was Ehren Keys, 25, who said he was a huge sports and dance fan.

“Dancing is my life,” Ehren told news.com.au.

Sitting with his mother Amelda Keys, Ehren said he was lucky enough to get tickets to both basketball finals because his father was on the Invictus Games board of directors.

Ehren has competed in special Olympics events and plays tennis.

Prince Harry is expected to present the medals to the winners later this afternoon.

MEGHAN’S DRAMATIC DRESS ALTERATION

The Duchess’ dress sense has been winning admirers. But it appears one number was subtly altered from the original. Royal watchers think the change was made to avoid risking royal sensibilities.

On her last day in Tonga, Meghan stepped out in a blue dress designed by Veronica Beard. However, it appears to be a little different to the original style being sold online.

The $840 shirt dress — which has now sold out — is midi in length and ties at the waist.

And while the original button-up style features two thigh-high slits, Meghan’s version appears to be altered, reported The Sun.

Pictured attending the unveiling of The Queen’s Commonwealth Canopy at Tupou College this week, the slits on Meghan’s dress seem to finish just above the knee.

While there’s no rule to say members of the royal family can’t have slits in their dresses, it’s possible the Duchess was following tradition by opting for a lower split.

It’s something that sister-in-law Kate Middleton appears to have also done in the past.

950 PER CENT RISE IN SALES FOR MEGHAN’S JEANS

At the games there’s every chance Meghan will be spotted in a pair of her favourite jeans — from Aussie company Outland Denim. That’s if she can get her hands on any.

Outland Denim’s founder James Bartle has said the mere act of Meghan sporting a pair of the company’s $199 slacks has had an immediate effect.

Sales have surged a whopping 950 per cent since the Duchess toured Dubbo in the brand.

The company said orders were coming in from “Uruguay to Russia” for the Harriet in Black jean that Meghan donned. It sold out within 48 hours in Australia and there is now a “sizeable waitlist.

But these are no ordinary jeans. They’re just about the most ethical threads in the world, given they are made by women who are vulnerable to sex trafficking.

Talking to Hello! magazine, Mr Bartle said the royal seal of approval has enabled him to take on more staff in the company’s factory in Cambodia.

“I never dreamt that the Duchess exposing us to the world would have such a dramatic impact, resulting in a minimum of 15 initial job openings” with the potential for 15 more.

On her trip to Dubbo, Meghan paired the black jeans with a crisp white shirt by Maison Kitsune, J Crew boots and a $200 jacket from the Serena Williams collection. It was a far more relaxed — and cheaper — look than the first day of her tour when her threads were worth a cool $8000 including a $2500 dress by US designer Brandon Maxwell and a trench by Australian designer Martin Grant, also worth $2500.

HARRY’S CLIMATE WARNING

The climate change sceptics won’t be happy with Harry after he made an impassioned speech on Friday about the dangers of a warming planet at the Australian Geographic Awards in Sydney last night.

Harry singled out coral bleaching of the “magnificent” Great Barrier Reef as an example of the damage caused to the environment.

“It’s absolutely heartbreaking to see your natural treasures being changed forever,” he said.

The Duke and Duchess both presented awards at the ceremony to the young adventurer of the year and young conservationist of the Year.

Sophia Skarparis, 15, won the young conservationist of the year award for her work campaigning to ban plastic bags. The petition she started gained 10,000 signatures and led to the issue being debated in NSW state parliament. Sophia told news.com.au Meghan said she was an “inspiration”.

“She congratulated me and told me to keep the hard work up and I thanked her for that,” Sophia said.

‘THEY’RE NOT THE KARDASHIANS’

At Friday’s awards night, guest were warned to be on their best behaviour around the royal couple.

During his introductory speech host and journalist Ray Martin warned guests not to approach the royals during the ceremony and allow the couple to enjoy their evening.

“Please don’t try to approach them. They’re not the Kardashians,” Martin said. “We don’t want to be bogans. They’re here for a relaxed evening themselves.”

Guests were also required to go through an airport-style security check prior to entering the Shangri-La’s main ballroom.

The royals received a standing ovation when they entered the Shangri-La’s grand ballroom.

The Duchess of Sussex stunned guests in a beautiful black and white Oscar de la Renta gown.

The awards began at 6pm but Harry and Meghan didn’t arrive until 8.15pm, due to a minor drama with their Qantas charter flight from Tonga.

The pilot had to pull up several seconds from landing due to another plane on the runway. After landing safely, the royals travelled by motorcade to their Sydney hotel to change into their eveningwear.

WHAT IS IT WITH THE ROYALS AND MASTERCHEF?

Tomorrow, Harry and Meghan will depart Australia, flying in the morning from Sydney to Wellington for a three day New Zealand visit.

The Duke and Duchess will visit Abel Tasman National Park on the South Island’s northern tip on Monday.

They will visit Auckland on Tuesday and Rotorua on Wednesday, departing New Zealand to return home on Thursday.

It’s while in Rotorua that Harry and Meghan will have their MasterChef moment. The royals clearly love the global cookery show franchise. It was only last year that Prince Charles was the special guest star on the Australian version turning down the opportunity of tucking into a dish flecked with ants.

The Duke and Duchess will meet up with MasterChef New Zealand winners Karena and Kasey Bird on Wednesday.

When Harry and Meghan stop for lunch they will sit down to a selection of “local products and traditional flavours” reported the New Zealand Herald.

The sisters are understandably excited: “The request was for traditional food and food from the local area and that’s what we love cooking,” Kasey said.

“So we are revitalising some of the old cooking techniques and giving our own twist to the foods we grow up on and the foods you find at the marae.”

There will be about 180 guests at the lunch but, just like a MasterChef challenge, they will have to be fast. The royals only have 35 minutes to eat.

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