Meghan to headline £1,400 'girls' weekend' in Australia

The Duchess of Sussex will headline a women-only weekend retreat in Sydney, Australia in April this year, with tickets starting at A$2,699 ($1,900; £1,400) per person.

The three-day event will be during Meghan and the Duke of Sussex's visit to Australia next month, seven years after their first visit in 2018 when they were still senior members of the Royal Family.

Touted as "a girls' weekend like no other", Meghan will speak at a gala dinner, with VIP ticket holders to get front-row seats and a group photo with the duchess.

The 300-person event has been organised by the Her Best Life podcast, founded by Gemma O'Neill and well-known Australian celebrity Jackie "O" Henderson.

O'Neill - a former staffer and producer for actress Nicole Kidman - confirmed the event on Wednesday during the podcast, which she now presents by herself after Henderson stepped back as a co-host last month.

"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," O'Neill told her listeners after the announcement.

She said that a long-time friend was at Meghan's house and suggested to the duchess that the two should meet.

"She's effectively doing this as a favour because of our mutual friend," O'Neill said, and because Meghan supported "women trying to be their best selves".

After initial reservations about the offer, O'Neill almost turned it down, but thought her podcast audience "deserved it", she said.

"It's a very small event for 300 women... it's going to be a fireside chat with Meghan and I."

VIP tickets cost A$3,199 ($2,300; £1,700) per person.

Described as an "unforgettable weekend for women ready to reconnect, recharge and have some serious fun", the event will be held at a five-star hotel at Coogee Beach in Sydney's eastern suburbs.

Activities include talks by a psychologist, yoga, sound healing, a disco and a meditation and manifestation session.

Their 16-day tour in October that year was the then-newly married royal couple's first major overseas trip. Hours earlier, Kensington Palace had announced Meghan was pregnant.

Observers deemed the Australia tour a huge success as the pair rode a wave of popularity.

They visited Bondi Beach, took a boat ride on Sydney Harbour and Prince Harry climbed the Sydney Harbour Bridge with then-Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

In January 2020, the couple stepped down as senior royals and moved to the US amid concerns of intense media scrutiny and allegations of racism by family members.

Earlier this week, a spokesperson for the couple said the trip to Australia in April will be for "private, business and philanthropic engagements".

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex signed a contract with Netflix in 2020 to produce TV and films for the platform, believed to be worth about $100m (£75m).