pregnancy

Why Meghan Markle is cutting back on appearances in the last days of the Australian royal tour.

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The pregnant Duchess of Sussex took a break from royal tour engagements on Sunday morning after a late night at the Invictus Games opening.

Prince Harry stepped out solo for the first time since the tour began in Australia last Tuesday.

He was on hand for Invictus Games events in Sydney on Sunday morning.

Although he has been praised for bending royal rules and being hands-on during the visit, there is only so far he’s prepared to go.

He gracefully refused to sign a green and gold pair of budgie smugglers despite the good-natured pleas of three Aussie soldiers.

Ben Yeomans, Damien Irish and Jarrod Kent were all smiles and had nothing but praise for the Duke of Sussex after meeting him on Sunday at the Invictus Games cycling event in Sydney.

“To be honest he’s so down to earth, one of the boys really,” Mr Kent said.

Prince Harry officially opened the Invictus Games at the Opera House on Saturday night after a wild electrical storm delayed proceedings for more than an hour.

Kensington Palace said the couple had decided to cut back Meghan’s schedule “slightly” ahead of the couple’s visit to Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand.

“After a busy program, the Duke and Duchess have decided to cut back The Duchess’s schedule slightly for the next couple of days, ahead of the final week-and-a-half of the tour.”

Meghan joined Harry at the prime minister’s Invictus Games lunchtime reception.

The couple fly to Queensland’s Fraser Island on Monday before spending the following four days in Tonga and Fiji.

They return to Sydney on Friday night for the final days of the games and then visit New Zealand.