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Breaking: Meghan, The Duchess of Sussex Is With Paul S. Viviano, CEO of the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and friend Kelly McKee Zajfen at the 2024 CHLA Gala in LA… See More
The Duchess of Sussex caught all eyes tonight as she made a glamorous appearance re-wearing a revealing red Carolina Herrera gown to the LA Children’s Hospital gala.
Meghan Markle, 43, previously wore the stunning gown at a 2021 gala in New York City to celebrate the military on the eve of Veterans Day in the US and Armistice Day in Britain.
She was seen Saturday greeting young fans, as the duchess prepares for a star-studded night featuring a performance by Demi Lovato and appearances by presenters Kaley Cuoco, Jamie Lee Curtis and Colin Hanks.
The duchess went stag to the event at LA Live’s event deck in downtown Los Angeles as her husband, Prince Harry, spent the night of his 40th birthday hiking with some friends.
Sources close to the couple say the duchess booked the hiking trip for Harry and his pals.
Yet it comes after the couple made a series of separate plans, including Harry’s solo trips to London and Lesotho in recent weeks.
The Duke has appeared at ten solo engagements in the last 15 days without his wife as he embarked on a ‘quasi-royal tour’ across three countries, including New York, London and Lesotho.
It has also been reported that Meghan bailed out on a charity event she was set to attend with Prince Harry because she was ‘sick.’
And when Prince Harry was goofing around with chat show host Jimmy Fallon in New York, film star George Clooney – a guest at his wedding in 2018 – was hosting a humanitarian awards ceremony in the Big Apple – and Harry was noticeably absent.
The last time Meghan was seen was the day before Harry’s birthday and she was barely staying at their home in Montecito for periods of time earlier this year whilst he was said to be ‘moping around’ by himself at a local café.
Last year, it was claimed that the pair spent extended spells apart but this was denied by sources close to them. It was said that, like any couple, they have disagreements but remained strong.
But Meghan has reportedly grown frustrated with Harry’s court cases in the UK over his security entitlement.
It has also been reported that the couple have been in disagreement over how to raise their children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three.
Harry did not want the children to be seen in public in case they were photographed but Meghan would apparently prefer to allow them to attend more local events, a source told The Sun.
Some now believe the new ‘solo Harry’ is the duke’s own idea, as he tries to rebuild his image.
‘I hear he wanted it this way,’ a well-placed Californian source told DailyMail. ‘I believe he wants space.’
Others said the duke and duchess are pursuing different goals.
‘The duke and duchess have now hit their stride as individuals – not just as a couple,’ an insider told People.
‘The Duke appears focused on his patronage work, and the Duchess focused on her enterprise track.
‘But there will be joint efforts around those cause-driven areas of work.’
Another insider in London offered a slightly different explanation, saying: ‘This definitely feels like he is upping his game to cement his position as a serious player on the international stage.
‘He’s always been desperate to be taken seriously and people I know say his fall from grace will really have got to him.’
Still, the source added: ‘It is a surprise that he went to Lesotho without Meghan. There may be a good reason she can’t leave the kids, but she’s never been to Lesotho and that surprises me – it is like a second home [to Harry].
He first went there as a teenager and the royal family there is like his second family.’
They’re so close that Harry and Prince Seeiso, the younger brother of Lesotho’s king with whom he founded the charity Sentebale, call each other ‘brother’.