Meghan Markle attends intimate dinner without Prince Harry
Meghan Markle has attended another event without husband Prince Harry amid reports their working relationship is “in a very bad state”.
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Meghan Markle has released a statement following her solo appearance at a Thanksgiving event, the latest in a string of high-profile events that she has attended without husband Prince Harry.
It comes amid reports Meghan and Harry’s work relationship is “strained” and “in a very bad state”.
In a statement on the couple’s Archewell website, Meghan opened up about the “heartfelt dinner” she threw for Afghan women with their partner organisation, Mina’s List.
“This initiative has spent the past year building community through storytelling and creating a safe space for women who have resettled in the US from Afghanistan,” the statement read.
“The evening included a shared meal that encouraged open conversation centred on gratitude and resilience.”
Meghan “expressed her deep appreciation to the attendees for sharing their personal stories and cultural experiences,” the statement said.
“The dinner was hosted at Our Place, founded by Shiza Shahid, where the participants were gifted with new cookware for the upcoming holiday season.”
The statement said Meghan “remains committed to uplifting women and fostering community through shared experiences, reinforcing the importance of unity and support during challenging times”.
It was the latest in a string of solo apperances for Meghan, who has been branching out on her own recently.
Prince Harry attended the Invictus Games promotional events in Vancouver solo last week, with one PR expert describing it as “a smart move”.
PR expert and founder of No Strings Public Relations, Riley Gardiner, told The Daily Express: “It means the spotlight can stay on the games and away from every little thing Meghan does.”
It came as Meghan urged Americans to open their arms to new people this Thanksgiving, saying “it’s really easy.”
In an interview with Marie Claire, Meghan said: “Just think about how you’d want someone to treat you … how would you want someone to open their arms to you?”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have spoken out several times about how Meghan struggled to adapt to life in the royal family because she felt unwelcome, and certain unnamed members of The Firm were ‘racist’.
In their Netflix docuseries, Meghan famously retraced her first meeting with the Prince and Princess of Wales and said she may have alarmed the royal couple because she is a “hugger.”
MEGHAN’S HALF-SISTER ON FAMILY RIFT
Meghan Markle’s estranged half-sister, Samantha Markle, has opened up about her family’s troubled relationship with the exiled royal — saying the ongoing rift has affected more than just her and their father, Thomas Markle.
Samantha, who has been at odds with the Duchess of Sussex for years, said Meghan’s relationship with Prince Harry put a strain on her mother, Roslyn, who died last month.
“Meghan has no idea what she is missing out on because when my dad [Thomas] goes, it will be too late,” Samantha told the Daily Mail, claiming Meghan has “missed opportunities.”
Samantha, who suffers from multiple sclerosis and uses a wheelchair, says she “couldn’t believe” how her estranged half-sister treated the royals.
“I don’t know the royal family,” Samantha said. “I’m just a human, watching from across the pond, but I couldn’t believe it … My dad doesn’t want Meghan to pay him back. But you want love from them because there is a pain in your heart if it isn’t there.”
“I didn’t want my mum to die feeling she was alone, and not loved. I almost left it too late. They could both learn from me,” she added.
Thomas Sr. has faced a slew of health woes in recent years, and even made a “deathbed plea” to his estranged daughter in April 2023.
The retired Hollywood lighting director suffered a stroke in 2022 and expressed fears that he hasn’t got much time left to make amends with Meghan, whom he hasn’t spoken to in six years.
The pair were once close, but their relationship soured shortly before her 2018 wedding to Prince Harry.
The Sussexes stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and moved to North America.
After the Duke and Duchess of Sussex settled into their new life in Montecito, California, Samantha said she “never thought” her half-sister would “do what she has done to the royal family.”
“She’s done what she did to her own family to so many other people, too. I knew my dad had suffered, but I thought she would stop at the Queen,” she said.
“If you accept an olive branch, you are asking to be hurt again. I think that would be weird. It would be hard to trust that she was doing it for the right reasons.”
“I think what makes me sad now is there were so many missed opportunities for love and real family,” Samantha added.
Last year, Samantha threw a last-ditch attempt to bring her defamation case against the “Suits” actress to trial in Florida.
Samantha Markle, 59, sued her half sister in federal court in Florida for allegedly making “demonstrably false and malicious statements” about her to a world audience during her and Harry’s bombshell 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
Samantha filed the US$75,000 lawsuit after the exiled royal claimed she grew up as an only child.
The comments subjected Samantha to “humiliation and hatred,” she claimed in the filing, which was brought forward in March 2022, and ultimately dismissed in March 2023.
It comes as GB News reported the gulf between the Beckhams and the Sussexes has widened.
Prince Harry, 40, and Meghan, 43, were once close to Victoria Beckham, 50, and her soccer star husband, David Beckham, 49.
The power couple even attended the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s royal wedding at Windsor Castle in 2018.
But things have since turned sour between the exiled royals and the Beckhams, and the foursome is “no longer on speaking terms,” according to the reports.
The ex-Spice Girl is gearing up for her own Netflix series, “The House of VB,” a documentary series that will follow Victoria as she juggles her fashion brand and beauty business while being a mum, wife and friend in a global spotlight.
Meghan is said to be “furious” over Victoria’s show, as she’s also set to launch a cooking series on the streaming platform in 2025 tied to her American Riviera Orchard lifestyle brand.
The Sussexes’ company, Archewell Productions, also produced a Netflix docuseries called “POLO,” which takes the audience behind the scenes of the glamorous world of the popular sport.
The five-episode series will drop on December 10.
But when it comes to Meghan and Victoria mending their friendship, royal commentator Ingrid Seward told The Sun: “I only think they would reconcile if they come across each other, and I’m not sure that they really do. I can’t think that their paths would particularly cross again,” she said.
“I think the Beckhams have distanced themselves from Meghan and Harry, but for the obvious reasons that we all know, you know Meghan and Harry are in the descendant, not the ascendant.”
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Originally published as Meghan Markle attends intimate dinner without Prince Harry
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