This is the sweet moment Meghan Markle told a young boy ‘it’s past your bedtime’ as she made a solo appearance at the LA Children’s Hospital gala.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, spent yesterday evening greeting young fans as she attended the event in downtown Los Angeles without her husband Prince Harry.
The Duke is believed to still be on his solo tour of South Africa, following a whistle-stop trip to the UK in recent weeks, also without Meghan.
Sweet footage shows the Duchess greeting a family at last night’s event before joking to a little boy about being up so late.
‘It’s past your bedtime for sure,’ Megan said as she addressed the child, who was being held by his mother.
She added: ‘How old are they? Oh so really close to our kids. Three and five.’
The Duchess caught all eyes as she re-wore a revealing red Carolina Herrera gown to the children’s event.
Meghan 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 greeted the young fans before preparing for a star-studded night featuring a performance by Demi Lovato and appearances by presenters Kaley Cuoco, Jamie Lee Curtis and Colin Hanks.
It comes after Harry and Meghan 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’.
‘Sentebale is such a big part of his life you’d think he would want to share it,’ the source said.