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Though they’re years removed from the royal work that has haunted Prince Harry since birth, the Sussexes continue to, well, put in the work.
Meghan Markle appeared as an honored guest at a retreat, posing with VIPs for photos.
She was in and out in two hours, though it was a weekend event.
The reports on how much she was paid for her brief appearance has people reeling.
The Sussexes have been spending time in Australia
On Friday, April 17, the Duchess of Sussex attended a “Girl’s Weekend’ retreat.
The Her Best Life podcast hosted the event at the InterContinental Sydney Coogee Beach resort.
The event kicked off late that afternoon, at 5 PM.
Meghan was there. So was her husband, Prince Harry, albeit in a plus one capacity.
The duchess was presented as the “highlight” of the weekend, according to reports.
According to The Daily Mail, the Sussex pair then departed at 7 PM.
After their two-hour appearance at the engagement, Meghan and Harry reportedly packed into their vehicle — with their bodyguards, of course — and headed to the next item on the itinerary.
That was a rugby game in Sydney. Two teams called the NSW Waratahs and the Moana Pasifika went head to head while the couple watched from the VIP section.
Though it sounds like a busy way to spend a Friday evening, the Sussexes are accustomed to making numerous public appearances without rest. It’s how Harry grew up.
So why was Meghan’s plan controversial? Well, it’s about the duration … and the payout.
She raked in 6 figures in 2 hours
According to The Daily Mail, Meghan “will reportedly net up to £130,000” for effectively stopping by to say hi.
(That comes out to $175,000 USD. Yes, that’s an embarrassing conversion rate; hopefully in a few years we can start working towards having a stable economy again.)
Each guest reportedly paid $2,699 for a standard ticket, and a whopping $3,199 for the VIP experience.
Now, the tickets covered the hotel, the dinner, therapy, meditation, yoga, something called “sound healing,” and more.
But meeting Meghan in person was presented as a highlight — and an expensive one.
The VIP guests even got to pose for photos with Meghan.
They could not, however, snap the pics themselves.
There was a strict no-phones policy for the duchess’ visit.
In fact, the Her Best Life podcast team reportedly refunded journalist Ariana Pezeshki for her ticket — on the grounds of her job.
She seemingly wasn’t going there as a journalist. But apparently her work precluded her from the getaway.
Why is this controversial?
The truth is that it’s very normal for public figures to receive absurd amounts of money for specific types of private appearances.
Senators do it. Celebrities do it. Sometimes, even political grifters do it. Is it surprising that Meghan shows up for something like this — or that enough people will pay top dollar for a quick meet-and-greet?
Wherever Meghan and Harry go, people treat them with excitement. Australia is no exception.
Last week, certain folks on social media were fuming over how warmly the folks Down Under received the Sussexes.
We’re reasonably certain that Meghan and Harry stayed at the event for exactly as long as they were asked to. If any actual guests are unhappy with the departure, we haven’t seen them saying so.
It seems more likely that Meghan’s haters just hate to see her get paid. Or, more likely, that they hate to see how popular she is everywhere outside of the UK.
Meghan Markle Pockets 6 Figures for Appearance, Leaves After 2 Hours was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.