17 November 2023 , 06:12
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Appearing right alongside other big-name celebrities like Dua Lipa, Leonardo DiCaprio, Oprah, Emily Blunt and the night's honorees, Carey Mulligan, Fantasia Barrino, Lily Gladstone and Billie Eilish, Meghan Markle strutted onto the red carpet at the Power of Women gala, hosted by Variety Magazine, on Thursday.
Wearing a simple beige dress, the actress-turned-royal clutched a small black purse and posed modestly for photos in front of a backdrop that showed Variety's logo and those of a few other sponsors. Notably absent from the event was her husband, Prince Harry.
The Suits star's public appearance comes amid controversy sparked between the Sussexes and author and royal fanatic Omid Scobie, who is set to publish his new book "Endgame" at the end of the month. "Endgame" details the story of how Meghan and Harry found out about the Queen's looming demise, alleging that they were largely kept in the dark about her worsening condition.
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Wearing a simple beige dress, the actress-turned-royal clutched a small black purse (FilmMagic)
Husband Prince Harry was absent from the event (Matt Baron/BEI/REX/Shutterstock)The couple has since denied those claims and have distanced themselves from the book and Scobie, one of their former allies as they continue to feud with the other royals.
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Ironically, Meghan's public appearance on Thursday comes just over a year after the Queen's death, which prevented her from attending the last Power of Women gala in fall 2022. She had been set to be the headliner of the event, and she won an award that year.
An excerpt of Scobie's unpublished book detailed how the Sussexes were notified of the Queen's quickly declining condition via a phone call from an unknown number on Harry's phone, which he would have ignored had Meghan not prompted him to answer it. It ended up being a call from his father, King Charles, who informed him that he and his wife, Queen Camilla, were leaving Dumfries House, their estate, to go to Balmoral, where Princess Anne had already taken up residence at Elizabeth II's side.
The Sussexes have since distanced themselves from the book and from its author, Omid Scobie, once one of their preferred royals reporters (Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
The Queen died on September 8, and Scobie alleges that Harry didn't find out until he read it in a BBC article (PA)Harry was told to "make his way to Scotland immediately," the excerpt from "Endgame" reads. "The Sussexes had no idea that Buckingham Palace was already planning for the Queen's final hours and the first days of the monarchy's new era," it also reads.
Since the excerpt came out, the Sussexes have denied their involvement with Scobie's book and also clapped back against claims that Scobie is in the Sussexes' inner circle. He co-wrote their biography, "Finding Freedom," and has been lauded as the couple's preferred royals reporter.
Scobie's new book revealed that the Sussexes were largely kept in the dark about the Queen's declining health (Getty Images)The book also details how Harry ended up finding out about the Queen's death, which occurred on September 8, 2022, as he made his way to Aberdeen, reading about it in a BBC article as opposed to hearing about it from his own family. That "crushed" him — but claims later arose stating that King Charles had called his son to tell him the news himself.
Harry later refuted that claim in his groundbreaking memoir "Spare," which detailed his journey to Aberdeen as he made his way to Balmoral. "Endgame" will be out on November 28, and rumours are already running rampant about the bombshells it's likely to contain.