Meghan Markle is set to touch down in Australia in April alongside her husband, Prince Harry, where she will be a guest speaker at the exclusive Her Best Life retreat.
The retreat, organized by radio star Jackie “O” Henderson’s event company, Besties, will run from April 17-19 at the InterContinental Hotel in Coogee, Sydney, and will include a gala dinner where the Duchess of Sussex will lead the conversation.
The dinner will include “an in-person conversation with Meghan”, and the opportunity for “powerful conversations, relaxation, laughter and unforgettable experiences”, as the company’s website details.
Early bird tickets are on sale for $2,699, with the price tag including two nights at the hotel, entry to the gala dinner, meals and alcohol, and access to both speaker sessions and wellness activities.
For a VIP ticket, which includes a “group table photo” with Meghan and a seat in the front two rows at the gala dinner, guests can expect to pay $3,199. The retreat is limited to 300 people, and will also include yoga and meditation sessions, as well as time with a psychologist.
Gemma O’Neill, who co-founded Besties with Jackie and co-hosts the Her Best Life podcast with the radio personality, announced the happy news on Wednesday.
© WireImage“I can’t believe I’m even saying those words,” she began. “There’s no one more shocked than me. I know what you’re all thinking, because I’m thinking the same thing. How has Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, this incredible woman, gone from Oprah to talking on stage with just little old me, Gemma in Sydney?”
See Meghan on her last trip to Australia in 2018 below…
“I have admired this woman and what she has endured, how she’s risen above it, and how she has demonstrated that a woman can be pushed down and she can still rise,” she added. Gemma, who previously worked as an assistant for Nicole Kidman and became a creative executive at the actress’ production company, Blossom Films, shared more details about Meghan’s appearance on her podcast.
“I feel so flattered because she’s effectively doing this as a favor because of our mutual friend, and she’s doing it because she really loves what our community is about,” Gemma shared, before adding that Jackie would not be joining her in interviewing Meghan.
© FilmMagic“I spoke to Jackie about it, this was a few months ago now, and I tried to beg her to come and do it, or I tried to beg her to take over the event, and she was adamant, she said, ‘No, Gemma, you need to do this yourself, this is meant to be for you.'” Jackie stepped away from the podcast in February 2026 and will likely not be involved in the retreat.
© PA Images via Getty ImagesMeghan and Harry’s trip to Australia in April will mark their first appearance Down Under since 2018, when they traveled to Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand. “Everywhere we went, enormous crowds turned out, and she didn’t disappoint them. All across Australia, Tonga, Fiji, New Zealand, she dazzled,” Harry wrote of his wife in his memoir, Spare.
The pair shared via their spokesperson that they would “take part in a number of private, business, and philanthropic engagements,” while in Australia. Their young children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, are not expected to travel with them to the southern continent.
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