Received

The children of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan will be known as prince and princess, with the couple publicly using their daughter's royal title for the first time to announce she had been christened.

Under royal rules, the monarch's grandchildren can become princes or princesses of the realm, meaning that Harry's children, Archie, three, and Lilibet, one, were eligible to use the titles since his father became king last September.

The interest in Harry's children's titles comes after his relationship with his father, King Charles, hit rock bottom following his tell-all memoir earlier this year in which he made accusations against the royal family.

It was not known until Wednesday whether the couple, who stepped back from royal duties in March 2020 and now live in California, would want their children to be known as prince and princess.

"I can confirm that Princess Lilibet Diana was christened on Friday, March 3 by the Archbishop of Los Angeles, the Rev John Taylor," a spokesperson for the couple said on Wednesday.

Buckingham Palace said it will update the royal website to reflect Archie and Lilibet's titles in "due course".

Meghan said in an interview two years ago that the royal family refused to make her son Archie a prince and had conversations about how dark his skin might be.

The titles are in line with the precedent created by letters patent issued by George V in 1917 which conferred the title of prince or princess on male line grandchildren of the sovereign.

This is the first time it has been confirmed that the children will use the titles.

The baptism was held days after Harry and Meghan had been asked to vacate their home in the United Kingdom, Frogmore Cottage, a decision made by Charles, and a sign of the latest strain in relations.

It is not known whether Harry will attend his father's coronation in May.

© RAW 2023

The MCG's world record for largest crowd to attend a day of Test cricket is likely to be shattered when an estimated 110,000 people pack into watch India and Australia in Ahmedabad.

The colossal stadium bearing the name of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will stage a spectacle like nothing witnessed before in cricket history for the opening of the fourth Test on Thursday.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will join Modi to celebrate "75 years of friendship through cricket" for a range of events before the match.

Fans are expected to be seated inside the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium well before the leaders of the two countries arrive about an hour prior to play.

Albanese and Modi will be taken through the India-Australia Platinum Hall of Fame within the stadium before the prime ministers meet the players.

Australia captain Steve Smith and India skipper Rohit Sharma are expected to introduce all their players to both leaders ahead of the national anthems.

Albanese is expected to stay at the Ahmedabad colosseum for about an hour before moving on to other commitments in Mumbai and Delhi.

But, remarkably, according to reports, Modi will stay on to do some TV commentary on the match.

Locals were spotted driving a gold car around the arena on Tuesday, while a vehicle with wooden bats and stumps on the back was being tested out on Wednesday.

The sight screen was also erected, with giant photos of Albanese and Modi on the sign together.

A number of influential Australian business leaders, including Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, Fortescue Metals boss Andrew Forrest and Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn, have joined Albanese on his first trip to India as prime minister.

The final crowd figure will be a source of fascination with up to 85,000 of the day-one tickets in the 132,000-capacity stadium set aside for local families and students.

Initial fears that travelling Australian spectators could be locked out of having access to watch the start of the match were eased this week after they'd previously only been able to purchase tickets for days two to five.

The record attendance for a single day of Test cricket stands at 91,112 from the start of the 2013-14 Ashes battle at the MCG.

Australia offspinner Todd Murphy, who grew up in the border towns of Echuca and Moama, was looking forward to the challenge of playing in front of such a big crowd.

"It's going to be noisy, it's exciting though," Murphy said on Tuesday.

"I think everyone sort of looks forward to opportunities to play in front of those sort of crowds, it will be a great atmosphere.

After a near five-year rebuild, the stadium in the capital of the Indian state of Gujarat, reopened in February 2020.

The first event in the stadium was a political event when Donald Trump arrived in India, with the former US president infamously mispronouncing the names of cricket icons Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli during a speech.

The ground, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, was renamed after Modi ahead of the 2021 Test between India and England.

The attendance record for the stadium is 101,566 when Gujarat Titans defeated the Rajasthan Royals in last year's Indian Premier League final.

© AAP 2023

The MCG's world record for largest crowd to watch a day of Test cricket remains unchallenged after the attendance at Australia's match against India in Ahmedabad fell well short of expectations.

An official crowd figure was not confirmed for day one of the fourth Test on Thursday, but the Gujarat Cricket Association estimated it to be between 50,000 and 60,000.

Pre-match estimates predicted the crowd might reach as much as 110,000 in the 132,000 capacity stadium.

The record attendance for a single day of Test cricket stands at 91,112 from the start of the 2013-14 Ashes battle at the MCG.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi staged a spectacle like nothing witnessed before in cricket history in the stadium named after him.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese joined Modi to celebrate "75 years of friendship through cricket" for a range of events before the match.

Albanese and Modi were taken through the India-Australia Platinum Hall of Fame within the stadium before the prime ministers met the players.

Due to the events happening before the match, the Indian and Australian teams were told to train in the cricket nets outside of the stadium instead of on the ground as normal.

Once the Indian prime minister stepped foot in his own stadium, chants of "Modi, Modi, Modi" echoed around the ground as they would for Virat Kohli.

Australia captain Steve Smith and Indian skipper Rohit Sharma met the leaders on stage, with the four linking arms and raising them in the air.

Albanese then joined Modi to do a lap of honour around the stadium in a hovercraft with the bats and stumps on the back of it, waving to the delighted fans in the crowd.

Albanese stayed at the Ahmedabad colosseum for about an hour before moving on to other commitments in Mumbai and Delhi.

A number of influential Australian business leaders, including Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, Fortescue Metals boss Andrew Forrest and Commonwealth Bank chief executive Matt Comyn, have joined Albanese on his first trip to India as prime minister.

Initial fears that travelling Australian spectators could be locked out of having access to watch the start of the match were eased this week after they'd previously only been able to purchase tickets for days two to five.

After a near five-year rebuild, the stadium in the capital of the Indian state of Gujarat, reopened in February 2020.

The first event in the stadium was a political event when Donald Trump arrived in India, with the former US president infamously mispronouncing the names of cricket icons Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli during a speech.

The ground, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Stadium, was renamed after Modi ahead of the 2021 Test between India and England.

The attendance record for the stadium is 101,566 when Gujarat Titans defeated the Rajasthan Royals in last year's Indian Premier League final.

© AAP 2023