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Reports have emerged that Jackie ‘O’ Henderson has been allegedly ‘barred’ from attending Meghan Markle’s keynote speech at the Her Best Life Retreat.
The Duchess of Sussex is slated to headline the event, which is the brainchild of Besties, an events company co-founded by former radio personality Jackie ‘O’ Henderson and her manager Gemma O’Neill.
According to an insider who spoke to Woman’s Day, the 51-year-old media veteran has been purportedly advised to avoid appearing on stage during the event, following an unexpected request from Meghan.
The insider suggested that Meghan is keen to ensure the spotlight remains firmly on her during this visit to Australia, without the distraction of a fellow high-profile media figure.
“This tour is crucial,” the source revealed.
‘It’s make or break and Meghan wants to steer clear of anything that could overshadow her mission.’
Jackie ‘O’ Henderson has reportedly been ‘banned’ from Meghan Markle’s keynote appearance at the upcoming Her Best Life RetreatÂ
The Duchess of Sussex is set to be the headline guest at the inaugural event, organised by the events company Besties, founded by former radio queen Jackie ‘O’ Henderson and her manager Gemma O’Neill
They added: ‘It’s why she requested Gemma to handle the interview rather than Jackie O.’
It was also suggested that while there is no bad blood between Meghan and Jackie, the apparent snub is due to the potential baggage Jackie could bring to the event, given her high-profile court action against her former employer ARN.
‘Meghan really likes Jackie, but she has too much going on in her own life,’ the insider said.
‘The focus of this tour should be 100 per cent on As Ever and her and Harry’s philanthropic work.’
The event, which is taking place from April 17 to April 19 at the Intercontinental in Coogee, promises yoga, sound healing, meditation, a psychologist-led session, a disco evening and a ‘fireside chat’ Q&A with Meghan alongside a gala dinner which she will attend.
Guests are being charged around $2,699 for a standard ticket or up to $3,199 for VIP premium packages offering more direct access to the Duchess.
Around 300 guests are expected to attend the three-day event, and the website states the ticket allocation has been ‘exhausted’.Â
However, there have been separate claims that not all tickets have been sold yet.
A source told Woman’s Day that Meghan allegedly did not want the high-profile broadcaster stealing her thunder during her Down Under visit. Jackie is pictured with Gemma O’Neill
‘Everything hinges on this tour,’ the source said. ‘It’s make or break and Meghan wants to steer clear of anything that could overshadow her mission.’
On Sunday, organiser Gemma O’Neill shared an update to her followers about her conversation with Meghan ahead of the retreat.
‘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,’ she gushed.
‘I just immediately loved chatting to her. She was just amazing and I just adore her 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 Gemma added that she already is Meghan’s ‘biggest fan’.
It comes as Meghan and Harry touched down in Australia on Tuesday morning for their four-day tour of Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s office said the four-day visit will ‘focus on mental health, community resilience, and support for veterans and their families, alongside private meetings and special projects’.Â
Harry and Meghan will also take part in private commercial engagements separate from a programme of public-facing visits, including the Her Best Life Retreat.
 Meghan and Harry touched down in Australia on Tuesday morning for their four-day tour of Melbourne, Canberra, and Sydney
Harry will be a guest speaker on Thursday at the InterEdge Summit in Melbourne, which explores the ‘intersection of leadership, psychosocial safety and human connection in the workplace’.Â
Delegate tickets for the summit, hosted at Melbourne’s Centrepiece conference venue, are available for $997, with platinum tickets costing $2,378, and a virtual ticket allowing on-demand access to Harry’s speech costing $498.
Meanwhile, the taxpayer-funded bill for Harry and Meghan’s security during their four-day tour of Australia will likely reach six figures, according to a security expert.
‘I think it comes into the tens, possibly hundreds of thousands, because, at the end of the day, it is a draw on each particular state with regards to bringing the police in from normal kind of duties,’ Zero Risk security specialist Tony Loughran told Sunrise on Tuesday.
He added the Sussexes will need a high level of security.
‘He’s inevitably going to bring his team over,’ Loughran explained.
‘They’ll dovetail with private security here as well to make that connection. But then you’ve got the outer layer which is the actual police.
‘Then they’re going to come in and look at cordons. They’ll look at private venues themselves where they might need a bit of additional support. And it also is crowd control.
He added: ‘Even just getting off the plane and getting out of the airport, that type of thing comes at a cost.’