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It was their first official gig together since they stepped out at the Women of Vision awards in May – and the Sussexes did not disappoint.
Looking relaxed and happy, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, put on a united front as they made surprise phone calls to the winners of a new award for safer technology for the future from their home in Montecito, California.
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Meghan looked suitably chic, dressed entirely in a beige ensemble, while Harry opted for a more informal, open-necked white shirt and chinos as they congratulated the recipients of the first Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund (RTYPF) grant.
Harry and Meghan’s Archewell Foundation is on the RTYPF’s advisory committee. At one point Harry thanked a recipient for her work for the organisation, which aims to make technology more inclusive and equitable.
He even brought their children, Archie (4) and Lilibet (2), into it. "Our kids especially are incredibly grateful,” he added, to which Meghan replied, “They don’t know it yet, but they will!”
Their loved-up appearance comes amid speculation their marriage is struggling as they battle to get work projects off the ground.
In June their multi-million deal with Spotify, which produced one season of Meghan's Archetypes podcast, was axed and their current lucrative deal with Netflix is said to be under pressure.
Harry also seems to have stepped back from the Travalyst eco-tourism company he founded in 2019.
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Eyebrows were raised with the recent news that Harry will be travelling to Botswana soon without Meghan.
Sources close to the couple, who wed in 2018, say they've grown tired of the rumours.
“The Sussexes’ marriage is fine,” an insider told OK! magazine. “Harry's trip is a work trip. It’s not a sign of trouble.”
The last time the couple attended a public event together, the Women in Vision Awards in New York where Meghan was honoured, they made headlines for a late-night paparazzi car chase they claimed almost killed them.
A month later, they lost their Spotify deal, with veteran Hollywood industry executive Jeremy Zimmer slamming the duchess as “not a great audio talent or necessarily any kind of talent”.
They were also blamed for not having the best ideas. Spotify execs were apparently left “puzzled" by Harry’s ideas for podcasts, which included interviewing Vladimir Putin, Mark Zuckerberg and Donald Trump about “childhood trauma”.
However, an Archetypes source defended the couple, telling People magazine they weren't set up for success on the streaming service.
“A lot of red tape meant things also moved very slowly on both ends,” the source said.
Since then, there've been rumours the couple are stepping away from their joint ventures to focus on solo projects, with Meghan recently signing to power agency William Morris Endeavor, and Harry working on a Netflix series which will see him travelling to Botswana.
The couple are, however, set to attend the Invictus Games together in Dusseldorf, Germany, in September.
Last year they delighted royal fans when they attended the games for injured soldiers and war veterans in The Netherlands.
This year Harry, who's the founder of the games, will give a speech while Meghan will moderate the closing ceremony. It's unclear at this stage if they'll bring their children along nor whether they'll visit the UK.
Sources: dailymail.co.uk, tatler.com, news.com.au
