Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made a surprise appearance at a film premiere in Jamaica on Tuesday night.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex jetted in from Los Angeles to attend the screening of Bob Marley: One Love, a film celebrating the life of the legendary reggae singer.
The couple posed for snaps on the red carpet with Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness, who is pushing for plans for Jamaica to sever ties with the British monarchy.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry made a surprise outing for date night as the pair attended the premiere of ‘Bob Marley: One Love’ in Marley’s hometown of Jamaica. pic.twitter.com/UiwsejA6WP
— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) January 24, 2024
The Commonwealth nation is set to hold a referendum later this year, with the goal of removing King Charles as their head of state by 2025.
On Tuesday night, royal biographer Omid Scobie tweeted a video of Harry and Meghan with the Jamaican PM, and wrote: “A different vibe to the last time we saw PM Andrew Holness with members of the Royal Family…”
Scobie was referring to the time Mr Holness told Prince William and Kate Middleton in March 2022 that he intended to get rid of the monarchy.
A different vibe to the last time we saw PM Andrew Holness with members of the Royal Family… https://t.co/JqPF3WgPRJ
— Omid Scobie (@scobie) January 24, 2024
This mark’s the couple’s first public appearance together since a new book alleged that the late Queen was angered over their claims she gave them permission to name their daughter after her.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex announced the birth of their daughter Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, nicknamed Lili, on June 4, 2021.
At the time, they told the world that she was “named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honor her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales.”
Days after the announcement, “palace sources” told the BBC that the couple never asked the Queen for permission to name their daughter after her.
At the time, Harry and Meghan responded in a statement via their attorney, which said: “The duke spoke with his family in advance of the announcement—in fact, his grandmother was the first family member he called.
“During that conversation, he shared their hope of naming their daughter Lilibet in her honour. Had she not been supportive, they would not have used the name.”
The attorney’s statement also stated that any claims otherwise were “false and defamatory and should not be repeated.”
Years after the debacle erupted, a new book by royal biographer Robert Hardman has alleged that the Queen was “angry” over Harry and Meghan’s claims she gave them her blessing.
In his new book, Charles III: New King. New Court. The Inside Story, an insider claimed that the late monarch told aides: “I don’t own the palaces. I don’t own the paintings, the only thing I own is my name. And now they’ve taken that.”
Hardman also alleged that a member of her staff told him that the Queen was “as angry as I’d ever seen her”.
He added: “When the Sussexes tried to co-opt the Palace into propping up their version of events, they were rebuffed.
“Once again, it was a case of ‘recollections may vary’—the late Queen’s reaction to the Oprah Winfrey interview—as far as Her Majesty was concerned.”
