On that bright early summer day in 2018, when Meghan Markle married Prince Harry in a lavish £32 million ceremony, could she have ever envisioned her life taking such a turn?

Once celebrated as one of the world’s most famous women and adored by cheering crowds, who would have thought that just a few years down the line, Meghan would be offering ‘meet-and-greet’ photo opportunities as part of her career?

Next month, Meghan, along with Prince Harry, will be heading to Australia, where she will engage in exactly that.

There are ‘VIP tickets’ available for a ‘Meet Meghan’ event, targeting 300 women. The package includes spa days, two nights in a hotel, and the opportunity to hear Meghan speak about topics like ‘healing’ and ‘manifestation,’ capped off with a photo opportunity with the Duchess. All of this is priced at £1,705 per person.

This shift from royal life to such ventures seems quite a departure from the life Meghan and Harry likely envisioned on their wedding day. Some royal insiders have even drawn unflattering comparisons to Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York.

Prince Harry and Meghan wave during the carriage procession after their £32million fairytale wedding ceremony on a glorious May day in 2018

 ‘VIP tickets’ for a ‘Meet Meghan’ event are being offered. Spa days, two nights in a hotel, the chance to hear Megs talk about ‘healing’ and ‘manifestation’ and a photo-op

How did one of the world’s once most glamorous and marketable couples become reduced to selling weekend getaways?

How did this once-glamorous and highly marketable couple, who secured a $100 million deal with Netflix that allowed them to share their story through the hit series “Harry & Meghan,” find themselves in a position where they are promoting weekend retreats?

The Netflix millions dried up after there was so little love for Megs’ lifestyle programme With Love, Meghan.

Perhaps the reality is finally dawning on the Sussexes that the only currency they ever had was being nasty about the royals, a direction they have not currently returned to, so good on them.

Yet I fear that without those millions, they may get desperate and be tempted. Another tell-all book or even a new series about the royals would earn them a fortune. So roll up you Aussie Sheilas, buy those VIP tickets – we have to stop the Sussexes returning to the bad old ways.

•  A desperate Katie Price says her 30st son Harvey will die from a heart attack if he is not urgently prescribed fat jabs on the NHS. Which begs the question: why not get her ‘billionaire’ new husband Lee Andrews to fund them?

Claudia overkill

She’s presented Strictly for more than 10 years, as well as four series of the hugely successful The Traitors. She keeps popping up in ads flogging Head & Shoulders and at the weekend was presenting Crufts before embarking on The Claudia Winkleman Chat Show in Graham Norton’s slot last night.

I simply adore her but even a superfan like me can reach Claudia saturation point. As for the guests on her new show, it was hardly a stellar lineup: has-been actor Jeff Goldblum promoting his jazz band (yawn) and a slot for her mate Jennifer Saunders.

HARPER MAKE-UP MADNESS 

Harper Beckham is set to release her debut beauty line, which will be targeted at Gen Z

David and Victoria Beckham make a star turn at a shoot for their daughter Harper’s debut beauty range targeted at Gen Z.

An insider says it will rival Kylie Jenner’s $670 million empire, insisting ‘this is not a Brand Beckham thing it’s a Brand Harper thing’.

Crikey! Have the Beckhams learnt nothing from losing their son Brooklyn? Push your kids into the spotlight too soon and it ends in tears.

Harper is 14 and should be studying.

• Strictly has lost the plot by culling our favourite female dancers Nadiya and Nancy amid claims of ageism because the women are in their 30s. If they want to target past-their-sell-by date women, why not drop judges Shirley Ballas, 65, and Motsi Mabuse, 44, two of the most annoying and overpaid females on television?

• A judge who jailed two Egyptian asylum seekers for running a county lines drugs network from their taxpayer-funded asylum hotel said she ‘hoped’ they would be deported after release. That is a laugh out loud moment – even if the EU thinks Egypt is a ‘safe’ country.

• Much excitement over Channel 4’s steamy A Woman Of Substance, the tale of a servant girl who, through hard work and street smarts, rose to be the world’s richest woman. But doesn’t it all feel a bit dated? These days heroine Emma Harte would just become an influencer or an OnlyFans star to make her millions.

Cross about buns at Easter

Labour-run town halls in northern England have asked schools to advise children not to draw pictures of Jesus in case it offends Muslims.

Bad timing as we approach Easter, the most sacred event in the Christian calendar. Next they’ll be banning hot cross buns as the cross symbolises the crucifixion of Christ. Whoops, in some strict Islamic cultures they already have.

Mother’s Day tomorrow and despite mine dying alongside Dad seven years ago, I’ve still got my Mum a card and a bouquet of her favourite half-opened, deep-pink roses to put beside a picture of them. And I’ve written in the card the same words I do every year – thanks Mum, for everything, love Mandy x 

This picture of Kate at the RNLI is captivating, writes Amanda Platell. Could it have something to do with not having to be in 6in stilettos?

That picture of a beaming Kate in a shirt, oversized jacket and baseball cap, while enjoying a cuppa at the RNLI, is captivating.

Since she was wearing comfy boots though, maybe that huge smile is down to her not having to totter around in her signature 6in stilettos!

Mandelson wars

Like many journalists, when Peter Mandelson was even mooted for the role of British Ambassador to the US, I wrote that it would end badly.

Having been bullied by him in the past I knew what a vile man he is, one who took pleasure in trying to get journalists such as me sacked. The question is why didn’t Keir Starmer see through him? What hold did the master of the dark arts have over the PM?

As for Starmer’s faux apology over Mandelson’s appointment – ‘it was me that made the mistake’ and ‘it’s me that makes the apology to the victims’ – good luck with that now he is accused by the Tories of lying and new evidence revealing his true involvement drops next week.

• In a world of plastic billionaires such as Taylor Swift (worth $2billion), it’s heartening to see celebrities who have brought us real joy in the list of the world’s richest people. They include Steven Spielberg of Jaws and E.T. ($7.1bn), Star Wars’ George Lucas ($5.2bn), Lord of the Rings’ Peter Jackson ($1.9bn) and Bruce Springsteen ($1.2bn). In years to come, Swiftie will be dancing in the dark, forgotten, while no one who goes in the sea will forget that Jaws music or to phone home.

Nicole’s sheer class

While some are suspicious of Nicole’s eternal beauty at 58, believe me, you can’t Botox your entire legs!

Nicole Kidman breaks her silence over the collapse of her 19-year marriage to Keith Urban. It left her blindsided amid rumours he’d become close to a backing singer. ‘What I’m grateful for is my family… [a reference to her ‘beautiful girls’, her ‘darlings’] and moving forward. That’s that. Everything else I don’t discuss, out of respect,’ she told the latest edition of Variety. What a class act. But more impressive are her sensational legs, in sheer tights, in the shoot. While some are suspicious of Nicole’s eternal beauty at 58, believe me, you can’t Botox your entire legs!