The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have quietly slipped out of Sydney.

The couple left the Intercontinental Coogee Beach early this morning – before attendees at the Her Best Life retreat, an event in the same hotel where women had forked out $3,200 to spend time with Meghan – had even had their breakfast.

Meghan spent just two hours at the retreat on Friday night, where she posed for group selfies with select VIP guests and participated in a Q&A with Her Best Life podcaster Gemma O’Neill.

Despite Meghan’s short appearance, retreat participants gushed on social media that Gemma’s chat with the duchess was ‘incredible – so much kindness from Meghan’.
Another said she had ‘goosebumps’.

High-profile guests included radio queens Jackie O Henderson and Carrie Bickmore, along with reality TV star Megan Towner.

On Saturday morning, the group was due to enjoy an optional yoga class at 7.45am before ‘easing into the day’ with a buffet breakfast.

But unbeknownst to the attendees, their star guest had already left the building.
Harry and Meghan’s motorcade quietly slipped out of the Intercontinental’s underground car park at 7.20am.

They travelled in a small motorcade of one NSW police BMW and two glossy Range Rovers to the Sydney international airport.

Daily Mail understands they are booked on a 9am American Airlines flight to Los Angeles, where they will land Saturday morning California time and be reunited with their children, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, at their mansion in California’s ritzy beachside Montecito.

New photos have shown Jackie ‘O’ Henderson on stage and addressing the crowd at Meghan Markle’s Her Best Life event on Saturday.

The radio presenter, 51, wore a white long-sleeve under a tweed-pattered dress and knee-high boots for the appearance.

She was joined on-stage by her long-time friend and manager Gemma O’Neill.

‘Jackie coming down to support Gemma and introduce the incredible @drjustinecorry ahead of her powerful session this morning!’ the photos were captioned.

Dr Justine Corry is a psychologist who has appeared on the We Are Besties podcast.

O’Neill and Henderson founded their event company, Besties, in July 2023. It was launched with an appearance from Goop founder and A-list actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

A source close to Prince Harry says he strongly in the presumption of innocence until proven guilty after Australia’s most decorated soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, was arrested and charged with five war crime murders.

Roberts-Smith, a Victoria Cross recipient, was granted bail on Friday after being arrested on April 7 and spending 10 days behind bars.

‘Out of respect for the Australian legal system he won’t be commenting, believing that the judicial process should be allowed to take its course,’ the source told news.com.au.

‘In all instances however, he believes strongly in the presumption of innocence, until proven guilty.’

Harry, a former soldier who was deployed to Afghanistan twice, attended several military engagements during his whirlwind four-day tour in Australia.

This included a cruise with veteran competitors from Invictus Australia, who joined the Prince and his wife Meghan Markle on Sydney Harbour on Friday.

Roberts-Smith on patrol in Afghanistan.

The cruise on Sydney Harbour on Friday.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex enjoyed a night at Allianz Stadium as they watched the NSW Waratahs take on Moana Pasifika.

The pair were seen sitting next to Meghan’s long-time friend Markus Anderson as they cheered on the athletes.

The Duchess of Sussex slammed public life during a Q&A with Besties co-founder Gemma O’Neill at the Her Best Life retreat in Sydney on Friday night.

Meghan, 44, said she had been enduring attacks for years during the one-hour discussion in front of a private Sydney audience, the Daily Telegraph reports.

Attendees who paid for a $3,200 VIP ticket were privy to a group photo with the Duchess, as well as a front row seat at the Q&A.

Prince Harry was also in attendance, and rose to his feet as his wife entered the room to greet her with a kiss and help her onto the stage.

Meghan told the crowd her experience in the public eye had been ‘very difficult’ but that people’s criticism of her had to do with their own ‘projections’.

She said the last decade, during which she celebrated happy moments such as her wedding and the birth of her two children, had been tainted by the vicious attacks.

Meghan said motherhood had taught her to have perspective and patience, something she needed, ‘given what our life is like’.

Radio broadcasters Jackie O Henderson and Carrie Bickmore were in the audience on Friday night, as well as Henderson’s teenage daughter Kitty.

Meghan wore a $350 cashmere tank from Australian brand Scanlan & Theodore paired with beige trousers and nude heels for the appearance.

As Harry and Meghan departed their hotel shortly after 7pm on Friday, a young man rushed at their car armed with a longneck beer bottle and a workman’s boot.

He asked the Prince to ‘do a shoey’ – an Australian tradition in which alcohol is skolled from a shoe.

A plainclothes police officer forcefully pushed him away, so the man did the shoey himself.

Meghan left the Her Best Life retreat after spending approximately two hours with women who had paid up to $3,200 to be in the same room as the Duchess.

She departed the InterContinental Coogee with her husband Prince Harry, shortly after 7pm.

Both were grinning happily as they made their way to a rugby match between the NSW Waratahs and Moana Pasifika.

As the couple departed their hotel, a young Aussie man rushed at their car armed with a longneck beer bottle and a workman’s boot, asking Harry to ‘do a shoey’ – an Australian tradition in which alcohol is skolled from a shoe.

A plainclothes police officer forcefully pushed him away, so the man did the shoey himself.

Meanwhile, Australian radio host Jackie ‘O’ Henderson and her daughter Kitty were the last guests to arrive and the first to leave.

Meghan and Harry made a speedy exit from the hotel on Saturday morning to make it for their 9am flight home to Montecito.

Photos from the first night of the Her Best Life retreat in Coogee have revealed an inside look to the glamorous evening.

The night began with ‘Bubbles in the Ballroom’ and canapes before guests joined the Duchess for a three-course meal.

Attendees could choose between a Giramasa kingfish tostada or a Vannella burrata for entree, followed by the choice of a Riverina Angus beef tenderloin or free-range chicken breast for the main course.

Dessert was a choice of coconut crumble or the Aussie classic, pavlova.

But guests hopeful to catch one more glimpse of the Duchess of Sussex on Saturday will be bitterly disappointed, with Meghan and Harry making a dash for the airport.