The Sussexes have been spotted for the first time in months at a swanky birthday dinner. Photo / Getty Images
The Sussexes have been spotted for the first time in months at a swanky birthday dinner. Photo / Getty Images
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were seen out and about for the first time in months while enjoying a swanky birthday dinner for the Duchess of Sussex with their friends, reports news.com.au.
The Sussexes were snapped leaving the upmarket Italian restaurant Tre Lune in Montecito, California on Thursday - the evening before Meghan’s 42nd birthday.
Meghan stunned in a sleek, strapless black-and-white dress, while Harry was on the more casual side in a blue linen shirt and pants.
The day before the birthday celebrations, the royals presented a united front in a new clip released on their Archewell website. The pair were filmed while they called recipients of the first Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund (RTYPF) grants to congratulate them.
An insider told the New York Post: “It’s not true, it’s literally made up.”
Omid Scobie, who wrote the biography Finding Freedom, which documented the Sussexes’ marriage and life in the royal spotlight, also rejected claims the pair were experiencing a rough patch.
What’s more, it was revealed last week Harry and Meghan will be attending the Invictus Games in Germany in September, which was founded by the Duke of Sussex back in 2014 to honour men and women wounded and injured while serving their country.
It has certainly been a tumultuous time for the Sussex brand.
In June, Harry and Meghan’s $29 million (NZ$48m) Spotify deal was axed after just one 13-episode series – The Duchess of Sussex’s Archetypes. The lucrative deal was rumoured to have fallen apart because the royals failed to meet “productivity requirements”.
Meghan's 'Archetypes' podcast. Photo / Spotify
Spotify and the Sussexes’ company Archewell released a joint statement that the decision was reached by “mutual agreement”.
However, shortly after the announcement, Spotify’s head of global sports content Bill Simmons dubbed them “f***ing grifters” on his podcast and said Harry was useless with ideas.
“I gotta get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry to try to help him with a podcast idea.”
“It’s one of my best stories,” he revealed on an episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast.
Harry and Meghan in their Netflix docuseries 'Harry & Meghan'. Photo / Netflix
What’s more, the couple’s Netflix deal is also said to be on the rocks.
In July, Bella magazine revealed Meghan was taking a “step away” from her and Harry’s joint Sussex brand to put her energy into solo projects.
“Meghan feels she’ll have better success if she takes the time to work on projects alone without Harry – even though he always gives her his full support,” an insider said.
The source added that Meghan’s recent deal with Hollywood talent agency WME – which also represents the likes of Adele and Serena Williams – is about presenting herself as a “power player” in the industry, standing on her own two feet.
