Excitement is building for a highly anticipated ‘girls weekend’ retreat in Australia, where Meghan Markle will take center stage. According to the event’s enthusiastic organizer, the Duchess of Sussex is eager to engage in “genuine woman-to-woman conversations” at the exclusive gathering, which costs approximately £1,400 per attendee.
Next week, Prince Harry and Meghan are scheduled to visit Australia, making stops in Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney. During their stay in Sydney, Meghan will headline a unique women-only retreat organized by the Her Best Life podcast. This event is the brainchild of Australian presenter Jackie ‘O’ Henderson and her manager Gemma O’Neill.
The retreat promises an array of activities, including yoga, sound healing, meditation, a session led by a psychologist, a lively disco evening, and a ‘fireside chat’ Q&A with Meghan herself. A gala dinner is also on the agenda, where the Duchess will be in attendance.
Tickets for the retreat are priced at around £1,400 for standard access, with premium packages reaching up to £2,000, offering participants closer interaction with Meghan. Approximately 300 attendees are expected, and the event’s website indicates that tickets have been fully booked. However, there are reports suggesting that some tickets may still be available.
Guests are being charged around £1,400 for a standard ticket or up to £2,000 for premium packages offering more direct access to the Duchess.
Around 300 guests expected to attend the three-day event and the website states the ticket allocation has been ‘exhausted’. But there have been separate claims that not all tickets have been sold yet.
Ahead of the retreat – which kicks off on April 17 – organiser Gemma O’Neill released an update to her followers about her conversation with Meghan.
She said: ‘I’ve literally just got off the phone with Meghan… It couldn’t have been any more real and she was just so divine and so beautiful.
Meghan Markle at an event in Washington D.C in October last year. The Duchess of Sussex will headline a women-only three-day retreat in Sydney next week organised by the Her Best Life podcast
Ahead of the retreat – which kicks off on April 17 – organiser Gemma O’Neill released an update to her followers about her conversation with Meghan
‘I just immediately loved chatting to her she was just amazing and I just adore already and I’m so excited for those who are joining us in our community next weekend to have the opportunity to experience how brilliant she is as well.
‘I know she is really looking forward to it and she can’t wait to be in a room with our community and great women and she was just like “let’s just have a real chat. Let’s just woman-to-woman let’s go for it”.’
In the gushing video Ms O’Neill adds that she already Meghan’s ‘biggest fan’.
The event is being held at the Inter Continental Sydney Coogee Beach, where rooms typically cost between £250 and £450 per night.
The relatively cheap hotel part of the fee is understood to be included in the ticket price, meaning that the remaining ticket cost is likely to line the pockets of Meghan and the event organisers.
Meanwhile, the Daily Mail has seen leaked documents which reveal details of the Sussexes upcoming trip Down Under.
‘Operational Planning Notes’ shared with select media and written by the couple’s new PR boss Liam Maguire include an itinerary that features stops in
Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney. The document also emphasises that the Australian taxpayer will not be footing the bill for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s trip.
In the gushing video Ms O’Neill said: ‘I’ve literally just got off the phone with Meghan… It couldn’t have been any more real and she was just so divine and so beautiful’
Harry and Meghan on their previous tour of Australia in 2018. While no longer working royals the Sussexes trip Down Under appears to resemble a royal tour in many ways
It comes after more than 35,000 Aussies signed a petition in March demanding no taxpayers’ money be spent on their upcoming visit.
Despite Harry and Meghan no longer representing His Majesty the King after they stepped back from the British Royal Family and moved to California in 2020, their trip Down Under appears to resemble a royal tour in many ways.
They will make joint appearances focusing on veterans and mental health, including a visit to a children’s hospital and an Invictus Australia event on Sydney Harbour.
Meghan will also undertake a solo visit to a women’s homelessness shelter, while Harry will attend an AFL club in Melbourne and a rugby union match in Sydney.
Harry is also expected to make a brief visit to Canberra without his wife.
The Mail is not disclosing specific details of dates and times outlined in the operational notes for security reasons.
Notably, the official four-day itinerary, starting next Tuesday, does not include Meghan’s appearance at the ‘Her Best Life’ retreat.
According to a source, this indicates that the Sussexes are keeping ‘pseudo royal’ engagements separate from Meghan’s latest commercial foray into the lifestyle world.
In her video looking ahead to the event, Ms O’Neill also thanked her fans for all their support saying she ‘had a bit of retreating I guess I’d say while I’m processing a few personal things.’
This comes after Ms O-Neill wiped her Instagram page in March and went underground.
The talent manager, who counts radio star Jackie ‘O’ Henderson as her main client, recently had her financial woes exposed after her Gemmie Agency was liquidated.
Her main Instagram account @gemmyjean has since been deleted.
However, the account for Gemma’s Her Best Life podcast is still active, likely to promote the upcoming retreat in Sydney with the Duchess of Sussex.
