It’s being billed as another quasi-royal visit, taking in ‘private, business and philanthropic’ engagements.
But so far the specifics of Harry and Meghan’s trip to Australia next month demonstrate in graphic detail their riches-to-rags tale.
Little more than five years after announcing mega-bucks deals with Netflix and Spotify in the wake of their acrimonious departure from the Royal Family, it seems the couple are reduced to undertaking paid meet-and-greet photo opportunities.
Indeed, a ‘Meet Meghan’ event to be held in Sydney is currently hawking ‘VIP experience’ tickets for £1,705 as part of a weekend of activities which even boasts a ‘group table photo with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’. The price includes twin-bed hotel accommodation for two nights.
The revelation led one well-placed royal insider to liken her to the former Duchess of York. ‘She’s basically Fergie,’ they said.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are due to visit Australia in mid-April, the first time they have been to the country since their official post-wedding tour in 2018 when they were greeted by hugely enthusiastic crowds.
The landscape has changed dramatically since then, with the couple seeing scathingly low public opinion ratings after repeated attacks on the Royal Family, including their tell-all Netflix documentary and Harry’s memoir, Spare.
While scant detail has been released by the couple’s team about their programme so far, myriad marketing materials are already beginning to leak out.
Meghan is now being compared to Sarah Ferguson, the former Duchess of York
A post on social media from the retreat announcing that Meghan will be involved
The exclusive event costs thousands of pounds for the weekend
Following on from his talk to a group of estate agents in Canada in December, Harry is due to speak at a ‘workplace mental health summit’ in Melbourne.
Crisis support service Lifeline Narrm have announced he will be a speaker at their InterEdge Psychosocial Safety Summit, which takes place on April 15 and 16.
Tickets to the event, which also boasts headline acts including tennis star Jelena Dokic, start at £1,053, rising to more than £9,000 for a ‘platinum’ table for eight.
The theme is to bring together international ‘change makers’ for discussions on how to build ‘psychologically safe, mentally healthy and high-performing workplaces’ as well as creating ‘lasting improvements in workplace culture and well-being’.
InterEdge Summit chief executive Carrie Leeson said this week they were ‘honoured’ to welcome Harry. In a media release, Lifeline Narrm said the prince had ‘dedicated his life to service and uplifting communities, while emphasising the importance of our collective mental health in his philanthropic and advocacy work globally’.
But all eyes are likely to be on Sydney where Meghan will appear at a Coogee Beach event billed as ‘a girls’ weekend like no other!’
She will be the headline speaker on April 17 at the £1,705 Her Best Life Retreat, marketed as ‘an unforgettable weekend for women ready to reconnect, recharge and have some serious fun’. ‘The highlight will be an in-person conversation with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex,’ boasts the literature.
The event – branded Meg-stock by some – at the Intercontinental Hotel sees Meghan billed as ‘a mother, wife, entrepreneur and humanitarian. Recognised by TIME and Vogue as one of the world’s most influential women, Meghan remains a dedicated champion of mental health and the rights of women and girls’.
An advertisement for the event, which is to be held in Sydney, Australia
Meghan and Harry wear flower garlands at Bondi Beach in Australia in 2018
The high-end event will be held at the Intercontinental Hotel in Sydney
Now, up to 300 guests will get to hear an ‘in-person conversation with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’ in Sydney, alongside yoga classes and other activities
Marketing material also refers to her ‘record-breaking’ podcast Archetypes and ‘globally celebrated’ Netflix series With Love, Meghan, and her lifestyle brand As Ever. Both Archetypes and With Love, Meghan have been dropped by Spotify and Netflix.
Now, up to 300 guests will get to hear an ‘in-person conversation with Meghan, Duchess of Sussex’ in Sydney, alongside yoga classes, a ‘sound healing’ experience, a meditation and manifestation session and a dinner and disco.
Meghan is understood to have reached out to the organiser, Her Best Life podcast host Gemma O’Neill, after being put in touch by a mutual friend. The presenter revealed she had initial reservations and almost turned down Meghan’s offer, but concluded her podcast audience ‘deserved it’.
She said: ‘For a good period of time there, I didn’t take them up on the offer, because I felt like I don’t deserve this – I’m just Gemma, I’m just a mum.
‘So I almost did turn it down, and it took me a lot of reflection, and at the end of the day I feel like this community deserves it.
‘She’s doing it because she really loves what our community is about, which is women trying to grow, try to be their best selves and trying to help other women.
‘It’s a very small event for 300 women… it’s going to be a fireside chat with Meghan and I.’
Ms O’Neill added: ‘I have admired [Meghan] and what she has endured… and how she has demonstrated how a woman can be pushed down and she can still rise.’
VIP ticket holders will get a table in the ‘front two rows’ for the gala dinner, a ‘group table photo’ with Meghan as well as a goodie bag.
While the speaking gigs are likely to be relatively well-paid – it has been suggested Harry will pocket £30,000 for his event in Melbourne – sources say it is likely to be a far cry from what he imagined he’d spend the rest of his life doing after quitting royal duties and burning bridges with his family.
One remarked: ‘They [the firms concerned] are hardly FTSE100. I’m sure they [Harry and Meghan] didn’t think they’d face diminishing returns so soon.’
