Meghan Markle was brutally savaged by a group of royal commentators for her latest scheduled appearance in Australia next month. The Duchess of Sussex will be the star attraction at a women-only event in Sydney during a number of engagements Down Under.

Meghan will be interviewed on stage at the £1,440-per-person event in April during her trip with the Duke of Sussex. VIP tickets for the 300-person event from April 17 to 19 cost 3,199 Australian dollars (£1,700) and offer front-row seats at the gala dinner and a group photo with Meghan.

But her appearance was dubbed a “Comic-Con” by a number of royal commentators, who said that Meghan being described as “just like Fergie” is a “low blow”.

The Daily Mail’s royal editor, Rebecca English, said on the Palace Confidential podcast: “When they left the Royal Family, they were trumpeting a hundred million pound deals, and now it’s kind of £1,700 for a group photograph with them.

“They’re now basically doing kind of pay-per-meet and photograph events.”

The outlet’s diary editor, Richard Eden, then added: “It kind of conjures images for me of kind of fan conventions.”

To which host Jo Elvin said: “Yeah, I was going to say Comic-Con. That’s what it sounds like.”

Meanwhile, Ms English went on to say how a royal source claimed Meghan has basically turned into Sarah Ferguson, to which Mr Eden exclaimed: “Oh, that’s a low blow.”

The outlet’s royal editor then added: “I hadn’t thought of it like that, but when they said it, I was like, God, you know, you’re right, because this is what she did when she divorced Prince Andrew and stopped being a working royal.”

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Meghan’s appearance was announced by Gemma O’Neill, host of the Her Best Life podcast, which is organising the event.

She said: “I have admired this woman (Meghan) and what she has endured, how she’s risen above it and how she has demonstrated how a woman can be pushed down and she can still rise.”

O’Neill described the three-day event at a beachside hotel as “the ultimate girls weekend” and said Meghan had contacted her after being put in touch by a mutual friend.

“I feel so flattered that she’s effectively doing this as a favour because of our mutual friend,” she said.

“She’s doing it because she really loves what our community is about, which is women trying to grow, try to be their best selves and trying to help other women.”