Richard Marx nearly overlooked Prince Harry as the royal waited backstage to congratulate him after his performance at Kevin Costner’s charity event yesterday.
The Duke of SusđâŻđ, 40, attended the annual One805Live! concert at Costner’s oceanside estate in California, without his wife, who was reportedly unwell. During the event, Harry presented an award to local pilot Loren Courtney, humorously noting that both felt more at ease flying helicopters than performing onstage.
The concert, which celebrated the bravery of first responders, featured several stars, including Rob Lowe, Jeff Bridges, and Pink, with Richard Marx among the performing musicians. After his set, Marx was filmed exiting the stage and being introduced to Prince Harry, who had been patiently waiting in the wings.
Footage shared on Instagram by Daisy Fuentes captures the moment Richard Marx almost walked past Prince Harry before being redirected by an off-camera man. The man can be heard saying, “Richard? Prince Harry,” prompting the stunned singer-songwriter to turn and shake hands with the royal.
In the clip, Harry greets Marx with, “Hey! Well done,” before the video cuts out. Daisy later posted a picture of the two deep in conversation, tagging the Instagram account “Prince Harry of England,” which is run by a royal fan and has 410,000 followers.
Prince Harry has primarily used social media through the former Kensington Palace account, now rebranded as the official channel for the Prince and Princess of Wales, and the inactive SusđâŻđRoyal account, which has been dormant since the Duke and Duchess of SusđâŻđ stepped back as working royals in 2020.
Guests had hoped to see Meghan Markle at the charity event again, as she attended last year.
However, a source told the Mirror: ‘The word is that she is sick and could not make it’.
Prince Harry is now expected to travel to New York over the weekend to attend other events, including the Diana Awards and an event held by the Halo Trust, which Diana was involved in.
Earlier this month, it was announced that the Duke of SusđâŻđ will be a guest at the annual WellChild Awards in his role as the charity’s patron.
The national charity for seriously ill children is one of the few UK-based organisations that the prince kept links with after his acrimonious departure from royal duties and move to the US.
He chose to remain in the position, which he has held for 16 years, when his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, asked him to step down from his other royal patronages as a now non-working member of the family.
There was no mention of his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of SusđâŻđ, accompanying him.
According to some reports she has vowed never to set foot in the UK again, and when she flew into the UK earlier this year when the couple visited Nigeria she didn’t even set foot outside the airport.
On Monday the Daily Mail revealed that Harry may travel to the UK to attend the awards, after both Buckingham and Kensington Palace’s chose to wish him happy 40th birthday on their social media channels.
With the King currently based in Scotland but returning to London regularly for his ongoing cancer treatment, it could give an opportunity for father and son to actually meet in private.
However the King has a major engagement in Scotland just two days before Harry’s when he and Queen Camilla visit the Scottish Parliament to mark its 25th anniversary.
This suggests he could well remain north of the border while his son is in the country.
The last time they saw each other was in February when it was announced that the King had cancer and the prince flew from the US to see him briefly.
Earlier this week, Harry and Meghan also stressed how voting is a ‘fundamental way to influence communities’ and make a ‘more equitable world’ as they issued a new statement ahead of the US election.
The Duke and Duchess of SusđâŻđ, who live in Montecito, California, marked National Voter Registration Day yesterday by getting the Archewell team to take part in a letter-writing activity.
The Archewell website outlined how the couple’s staff used ‘Vote Forwardâs impactful letter-writing tool’ to encourage unregistered voters to vote in the presidential election in November.
The statement read: ‘Voting is not just a right; itâs a fundamental way to influence the fate of our communities.
‘At The Archewell Foundation, we recognize that civic engagement, no matter oneâs political party, is at the heart of a more just and equitable world.
‘By participating in initiatives like this, we aim to amplify the message that every voice matters.’