Royal Tour, Day 3: Meghan and Prince Harry take a trip around Melbourne

A CARNIVAL atmosphere is surrounding Government House Drive ahead of Meghan and Prince Harry’s arrival in Melbourne today.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will walk up the driveway and meet the public before heading into Government House for a welcome reception.

Fans refused to let the drizzly Melbourne weather ruin the opportunity to dress to impress the royals — including Toni, 24, from Richmond who arrived at 8am, decked out in a personalised “Harry and Meghan” T-shirt.

“This is my first royal tour, and I just love Meghan,” she told news.com.au.

“She’s the new Diana, the people’s princess. It’s so cool that she takes so much time to talk to people, and spend time with all the kids she meets on tour.”

Shelley McLean was 13 when she first met the royals.

It was in Melbourne’s Bourke St mall in 1983 and then-teenage Shelley became infatuated immediately.

She took photographs of Diana and Charles and gushed as the pair walked past.

Fast forward 34 years and she still has royal fever.

On Thursday, as Prince Harry and Meghan prepared to greet adoring fans in Melbourne, Shelley was at it again.

She was holding a sign that reads “Harry I wagged school in 1983 to meet your parents” but in her pockets is where the real gold lies.

She has photographs of her teenage self at the mall that day and a close up on her first run-in with royalty.

She also has a gift for Harry and Meghan — a toy koala.

“I’m a crazed royal fan,” she told news.com.au.

“My daughter got to meet the Queen when she came to Federation Square, so it’s a bit of a tradition.”

Shelley said she was awake until 2am making her consume because that’s when she does her best work.

And she’ll cry if she doesn’t get to say hello to the Duke and Duchess.

“I’m literally going to be crying. I’ll be beside myself.”

— Bronte Coy and Rohan Smith

ROYAL COUPLE HEADS TO MELBOURNE

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have just been snapped boarding a RAAF plane from Sydney Airport to Melbourne.

The Duchess looked more dressed up and glamorous today, with her hair out, a navy blue fitted midi dress and black stilettos.

Prince Harry matched her with a navy suit and crisp white button-up shirt.

It’s a noted contrast from the more relaxed outfits the pair sported in Dubbo yesterday.

Yesterday Meghan wore an untucked white Maison Kitsune shirt over a loose grey Serena Williams Collection jacket, denim jeans by Australian brand Outland Denim, and her hair tied in a ponytail.

Harry wore a blue denim button-up shirt loosely tucked into black pants — and both the royals had their Akubra hats at the ready.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are expected to touch down in Melbourne later this morning, where they will visit local cafes and primary schools, take part in a beach clean and — of course — a meet-the-people walk.

This marks the third day of their official Down Under tour — the pair’s first overseas trip as a married couple. Meghan and Harry spent the day touring Sydney on Tuesday before flying out to the town of Dubbo yesterday.

The wet weather looks set to follow the pair from Dubbo to Melbourne. The city woke to light showers today and there is a 50-50 chance of rain continuing throughout the day.

Hoping to catch a glimpse of the royal pair? Their first appearance will be a walkabout to meet members of the public at Government House Drive.

This will be followed by a reception at Government House, a local primary school visit, and an iconic Melbourne tram ride to South Melbourne beach.

With thousands expected to rock up, we only have one piece of advice for you: Arrive early.

KARL BLASTS PIERS IN FURIOUS RANT

Meghan Markle has received an outpouring of support after Piers Morgan accused her of being fake.

This morning Today host Karl Stefanovic called for the former tabloid editor to be axed over his remarks.

“I think it’s disgraceful,” he said. “I think she is an amazing woman, and she’s doing her very best at the moment. She’s got a lot on her plate.

“What is that guy on? He’s lost the plot completely. Imagine just for a second, putting up with a dude like that who’s so up himself and so egotistical, that he feels he can say those things about her. It’s disgusting. You would not put up with it.

“He needs to go. He’s off the mark here. I’m on Meghan’s side.”

“I am very much on the side of Meghan Markle, I think she's a beautiful, wonderful woman,” added Georgie Gardner. “They look very truly in love, I don’t think there’s any acting there.”

Morgan hit back on Twitter, telling Karl to “pipe down”.

😂😂😂Pipe down @karlstefanovic - you after an honorary knighthood or something? https://t.co/9mScwgTGjX
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 17, 2018

In a scathing live-to-air rant on UK television overnight, Morgan said: “She is an actress. She’s acting great at the moment.”

Not long afterwards, he tweeted a picture of her looking at Prince Harry with the caption: “Once an actress...’

😂😂😂 Once an actress... pic.twitter.com/lSMEdIZOs5
— Piers Morgan (@piersmorgan) October 17, 2018

But social media users aren’t having a bar of it:

Piers sees the true love, happiness, support and equality between Megan and Harry which is why he continues to malign it. He's knows they are the real deal otherwise he'd ignore them. Piers thought he'd be able to break Meghan but she's STILL shining bright living her best life.
— Erikk_the_Dane™ (@Erikk_the_Dane2) October 17, 2018