British royals Harry and Meghan received baby gifts, met a koala couple and posed in front of Sydney's dazzling Opera House Tuesday, on their first public outing since announcing they are to become parents.
The happy prince and his US-born wife laughed as they were given a pair of Australian baby Ugg boots from the country's governor general, watched eucalyptus-munching koalas at the zoo and took a boat ride across Sydney Harbour as they began a lengthy tour of the Pacific.
Meghan, wearing a tight white dress by Australian designer Karen Gee, showed few signs of having a baby bump, but smiled broadly as she stepped back into the limelight -- posing against the backdrop of the Opera House sails, which gleamed in the spring sunshine.
Shortly after the appearance, Gee's website was down, apparently due to the volume of traffic it was receiving.
At the foot of the Opera House a crowd of hundreds pressed against security fences for a royal outdoor meet-and-greet, waving Australian flags, assorted pictures and carrying human-size koala toys, all under the gaze of police snipers and close protection officers.
"I've been following them since the wedding," 90-year-old retiree Edward Atkinson told AFP, adding that he would be looking out for any signs of Meghan's pregnancy.
American princess
Kensington palace said they did not expect any changes to the trip schedule, although Meghan is not expected to join Harry in scaling the Sydney Harbour Bridge to mark the start of the Invictus Games later in the week.
They are still expected to visit Fiji and Tonga despite a notice advising pregnant women to stay away because of the Zika virus.
The decision came after consultations with doctors, Kensington Palace said.
The BBC's royal correspondent said scrutiny will only intensify with the announcement Meghan is expecting.
"This is now the duchess's pregnancy tour -- every step of the way she will be greeted with a new level of excitement and with some degree of concern," the BBC's Jonny Dymond wrote.
Meghan made her name in acting as savvy paralegal Rachel Zane in the US television legal drama "Suits", a world far removed from Buckingham Palace.
Her first steps as a British royal have been cautious, immaculately scripted and well received. It is all but mandatory for a major royal to have a charity project, and Meghan's choice addressed the biggest tragedy to befall Britain in the past years.
The June 2017, the Grenfell Tower fire in London killed 71 people and raised uncomfortable questions about the government's approach to low income families who lived there.
Meghan wrote the foreword to the recipe collection entitled "Together: Our Community Cookbook", produced by women who suffered in the blaze.
Britons also swooned after seeing Meghan nonchalantly closing her own car door at her first solo engagement last month in London.