Meghan Markle lit up the red carpet at the 2024 Paley Honors Fall Gala on Wednesday evening.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, attended the glamorous event held at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills to support her close friend Tyler Perry, who was honored with the Paley Honors Award, the highest recognition given by the Paley Center for Media.
Dressed in a strapless black Oscar de la Renta gown paired with Celine heels, Meghan exuded elegance. She accessorized with a custom Logan Hollowell necklace and a Cartier Love bracelet.
Although her husband, Prince Harry, was not present, Meghan appeared radiant as she posed for photos, embracing Perry on the red carpet. The two friends caught up before the festivities began. Meghan warmly congratulated the filmmaker on his accolade before joining him and actress Kerry Washington at their table.
The evening celebrated Perry, 55, as he received the Paley Honors Award, marking a significant moment in his career. Perry shares a close bond with the Sussexes, famously offering them his $18 million Los Angeles mansion to stay in after they stepped back from royal duties and relocated to the U.S. in 2020. He is also godfather to their daughter, Princess Lilibet.
Meghan’s attendance at the high-profile gala had been confirmed the previous week. Both she and Harry were on the hosting committee alongside notable names like Kerry Washington, Whoopi Goldberg, Gayle King, and Taraji P. Henson.
While Meghan represented the Sussexes in Beverly Hills, Prince Harry was across the country, attending the New York Times’ DealBook conference in New York City the same evening.
Addressing recent divorce rumors during the conference, Harry dismissed the speculation with humor. “Apparently we’ve bought or moved house 10, 12 times,” he quipped when asked about his marriage. “We’ve apparently divorced maybe 10, 12 times as well. So it’s just like, what?”
He continued with a touch of dry wit, “It’s hard to keep up with, but that’s why you just sort of ignore it. The people I feel most sorry about are the trolls. Their hopes are just built and built, and it’s like, ‘Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,’ and then it doesn’t happen. So I feel sorry for them. Genuinely, I do.”
Harry’s appearance in New York came two months after his last trip to the city, where he participated in events during the UN General Assembly High-Level Week and Climate Week.
The prince’s Big Apple visit follows a pattern of alternating high-profile engagements between him and Meghan. Back in November 2021, Meghan participated in the DealBook summit in a conversation with Andrew Ross Sorkin titled “Minding the Gap,” discussing how women can achieve equal pay.
Now, Harry continues to pick up the baton, carving out his role in the couple’s twin-track approach to public engagements as they work to shape their post-royal narrative.