Prince Harry and Meghan Markle officially invited to visit Queensland
Queensland has officially extended the welcome mat for royal newlyweds Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk has written to Clarence House to invite the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to Queensland during their coming visit to Australia.
The royals, who wed St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle last month, are due to visit Sydney for the Invictus Games in October, with the tour to also include New Zealand, Fiji and Tonga.
In her letter, Ms Palaszczuk congratulated the couple on their recent nuptials on behalf of the people of Queensland.
"It was a beautiful day and I know thousands of Queenslanders enjoyed the telecast of your special day, as I did with my young nieces," she wrote.
Ms Palaszczuk said she hoped Prince Harry and Meghan might consider travelling north to Queensland prior to or following the Invictus Games, inviting the couple to visit some of the state's World Heritage-listed areas, including the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree rainforest.
"The people of Queensland have a great respect for your family," she said.
In April, Prince Harry's father, Prince Charles, and his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, visited Queensland to open the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, meeting Brisbane residents during a public walk, before Charles travelled north.
Ms Palaszczuk said she hoped Prince Charles relayed some of the highlights of of his visit, including Lady Elliot Island on the Great Barrier Reef and a Dreamtime Walk through Mossman Gorge in the Daintree rainforest.
"Once again, please accept our most sincere congratulations. We hope to welcome you to Queensland in the near future," she wrote.
Meghan's friend and former Suits co-star Gabriel Macht has reportedly offered the couple the opportunity to stay at his property in the Queensland beach town of Noosa, the Sunday Mirror reported.