March 13, 2026

Meghan Markle’s $1,800 “best self” cash-grab: Duchess hawks women-only Sydney retreat

Meghan Markle’s $1,800 “best self” cash-grab: Duchess hawks women-only Sydney retreat
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Meghan Markle is set to headline a women-only weekend retreat in Sydney during her April trip to Australia, with tickets starting at about $1,800 and VIP packages running around $2,100 for front-row seats and a group photo. The event is being marketed as “a girls’ weekend like no other,” complete with yoga, meditation, manifestation workshops, a gala dinner and a fireside-style chat with the Duchess of Sussex.

The paid appearance is fueling fresh questions about the Sussex brand, especially as Prince Harry is also due to speak at a separate ticketed event in Melbourne. Critics say the couple’s mix of humanitarian messaging and premium lifestyle commerce feels increasingly disconnected. We also look at fresh expert warnings that Meghan’s As Ever brand lacks a clear identity, why some consultants think she may be “stronger alone” than alongside Harry right now, and the latest eyebrow-raising promotion offering free chocolate only if customers spend at least $150.
Plus: a columnist argues Meghan’s social media approach with Princess Lilibet amounts to “performative privacy.”

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Caloroga Shark Media. Hi and welcome to Pallas Intrigue Ga.

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I'm your host, Mark Francis. Meghan, the Dunchess of Sussex,

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is set to headline a women only weekend retreat in Sydney,

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with tickets starting at about eighteen hundred dollars per person.

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The three day event will take place during Meghan and

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Prince Harry's planned visit to Australia in April. Marketed as

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a girl's weekend like no other, the retreat will include

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a gala dinner where Megan will speak to the attendees.

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VIP ticket holders paying roughly twenty one hundred dollars will

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receive front row seating and the opportunity to take a

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group photo with the Duchess. The event is being organized

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by Her Best Life podcast, founded by Jemma O'Neill and

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Australian radio personality Jackie o Henderson. O'Neill confirmed the booking

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on the podcast this week, saying Meghan was excited about

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the community the show has built around women trying to

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grow and be their best. Meghan's appearance will take the

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form of a fireside style conversation during the retreat, which

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will be held at a five star hotel at Koogie

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Beach in Sydney. The weekend's programming also includes sessions with

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a psychologist, yoga, sound healing, meditation and manifestation workshops, as

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well as a disco Printerry will also be appearing at

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a paid event during the couple's upcoming trip to Australia.

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The Duke of Sussex is scheduled to speak at the

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inter Edge Summit in Melbourne, described by organizers as a

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professional development conference aimed at helping leaders, practitioners and change

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makers build mentally healthy, safe and high performing workplaces. Tickets

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for the mental health Summit started about thirteen hundred dollars,

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with organizers saying proceeds from the ticket sales will go

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to the crisis support charity Lifeline. It is free. Substack

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newsletter Royal Inside of Deep Crown writes, Meghan is exactly

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who she always has been. I do not mean that

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I'm kindly precisely, but I mean it plainly. She is

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a woman of considerable ambition and considerable skill that the

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performance of accessibility, who has since departing Royal Life, constructed

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a version of herself as both premium brand and populist champion.

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That these two things exist in some tension with one

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another does not appear to trouble her, and perhaps it

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should not. She is operating in a marketplace that rewards

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exactly this combination. The retreat is not a surprise. It

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is a data point that confirms the model. PR expert

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Renee Smith, commenting on the Jordan trip, but the lesson

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applies here, told The Daily Express, the bigger strategic issue

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is alignment. If Harry is doing humanitarian travel and Megan

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is scaling a commercial lifestyle brand, these two narratives need

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to feel complementary, not parallel. Usually, when a public figure

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successfully straddles commerce and cause, there is a clear through

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line that connects the two. Think of brands that tie

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a product to purpose in a measurable way. Without that,

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it can feel like two separate lanes competing for attention.

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And again, I think they now have very different lanes,

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and it may be time to stop trying to merge them,

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let them stand independently. The Jordan trip had none of

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those who felt casually competent but not strategic. Megan is

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being warned by marketing and communications experts that her attempt

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to reposition herself as a lifestyle entrepreneur could stall unless

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she makes a decisive change in how her business is run.

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One marketing source to or Radar online. If a lifestyle

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brand doesn't clearly express what kind of life it represents,

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it has very limited potential. Megan needs to show its

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why and why it contributes to the planet. It currently

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totally lacks any corporate social responsibility element. If nothing changes

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from a pr standpoint, the pattern is likely to repeat

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itself and her business is likely to fail. Inconsistent releases

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and unclear positioning may keep her in the public eye,

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but they do little to establish a brand with lasting

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strength and longevity. One consultant said, if as ever is

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meant to be central to her career, it has to

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be run like a serious business that requires proper planning

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and organization. Occasional launchers can work, but not when they

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are followed by long gaps or mixed messages. There needs

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to be a defined schedule, a coherent narrative, and a

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clearer idea of the values behind the brand, not just

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its look. A consultant told Radar Online. A cookbook could

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resonate with her audience, but only if it's framed in

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the right way, it would need to move beyond a

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typical influencer release and be grounded in personal narrative, drawing

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on family traditions, food rituals, and cultural background. Handled with

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genuine warmth, it could help recast her images more rooted

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and relatable, but every element would have to be tightly managed,

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from the look and feel to how it is introduced

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to the public. Our advice would be to stop chasing

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isolated opportunities and instead focus on shaping a clear story,

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a steady pace, and a defined direction. One pr expert

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has suggested that Megan Markel may currently benefit from appearing

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independently rather than alongside Prince Harry is scrutiny surrounding the

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royal family intensifies. Per expert Dermat McNamara said Meghan was

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once seen as a gorgeous, glamorous Hollywood star, yet she

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became more famous when she married Harry, but she was

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her own entity before he came along, and she is

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used to going out and working the hustle in a

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way that Harry hasn't had to do. McNamara suggested that

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in the current climate, Megan may appear stronger alone, particularly

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given the renewed controversy surrounding Andrew mount Batten Windsor and

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the Epstein documents. There's no doubt she's stronger alone at

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the moment because the levels of toxicity around the Epstein

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scandal can't be overstated. He explained. It goes against everything

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she's trying to build, so she won't want to be

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associated with it in any way. There's probably an element

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of her protecting Harry emotionally mixed with her protecting herself

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and her brand. The Andrew stuff could harm Harry and

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Meghan more than William and Kate because their brand is

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built on their royal affiliation. But right now, the last

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thing anyone wants their brand to be associated where is

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the royal fly. Savvy Meghan will do everything she can

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to keep her head down and well away from what's

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going on, and that means not going out as a

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royal couple. More powers in just a moment. In a

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newsletter sent to subscribe, as the Duchess of Sussex announced

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a limited promotion offering complimentary chocolate to customers who spend

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at least one hundred and fifty dollars on the brand's products.

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She wrote, as we celebrate Women's History Month, we kept

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something special up our sleeve. The promotion includes a free

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chocolate bar created through as Evers collaboration with luxury chocolateeer Compretz.

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The bars were originally released as a limited edition product

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and quickly sold out, Meghan explained, for a limited time

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while supplies last, enjoy a complimentary as Ever Compartaire's chocolate

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bar with orders of one hundred and fifty dollars or more. Yes,

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the same specialty bars that tend to disappear quickly. Customers

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who qualify for the promotion will receive one of the

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three varieties chosen at random. The options include dark chocolate

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layered with raspberry jam, white chocolate topped with flower sprinkles,

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or milk chocolate with short bread cookie crumbles. Megan noted

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that the exact flavor will be a surprise for customers.

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She wrote, each order will include one bar selected from

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our assortment. You may receive decadent dark chocolate layered with

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raspberry jam, greamy white chocolate finished with flower sprinkles, or

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milk chocolate with buttery short bread cookie crumbs. The flavor

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will be a surprise, but each one is made to

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feel a little special, something to enjoy yourself or to

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share with someone you love. In The Independent, Charlotte Cripps writes,

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the Duchess of Sussex's new Instagram post shows her hugging

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her daughter, Princess Lilibert as they sit together in loving

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harmony on a rock by the sea in honor of

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International Women's Day. The sky is perfectly blue. It's a

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powerful and cuddly photo, and it's the favored pose. The

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back or side of Lilibert's head. We've seen it so

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many times before. There's the backup of the Libert's head

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wearing a reversed baseball cap while helping out in a

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charity kitchen for Thanksgiving in November, a Happy Holidays post

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in December, her hair covering her face, and there she

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is enjoying pumpkin picking in October, pulled along in a

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cart by Megan while Prince Archie races around, only visible

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from behind. Two. It's known as sharenting with caution and

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aims to protect a child's privacy from identity theft, online exploitation,

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deep fakes, and other security risks. I get it, I

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really do. Parents are only now understanding the effect that

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putting their children online has on their children, never mind

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the real danger of their image being stolen too. The

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only issue is that only a few weeks ago, Meghan

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shared the very first photo of Delibert's face in years

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in a Valentine's Day post. Never not publicity hungry, Megan

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is clearly eager to show the world her royal children

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and get the ball rolling with their public life, despite

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all the Prince Harry's pleas for privacy, but in reality

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it all feels like performative privacy and they haven't. If

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you like to email us or addresses the Palace intrig

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at gmail dot com, please follo us on Spotify, Apple

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or the app of your choice. I'm Mark Francis My

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thanks to you. John mcdermotiss Palla's intrigue, Good turns