Prince Harry, Meghan Markle make surprise appearance at Santa Barbara benefit

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made a surprise appearance at the One805Live! concert benefiting first responders in Santa Barbara over the weekend.

The Duke of Sussex, 41, and Duchess of Sussex, 44, attended the benefit on Sept. 20 at actor Kevin Costner’s oceanside estate in California, which raises funds for essential equipment and mental wellness programs for Santa Barbara County’s first responders.

This year’s benefit featured performances by Trisha Yearwood, Good Charlotte, The Fray, Alan Parsons, Thelma Houston and more.

Markle joined her husband onstage briefly and then returned to watch him from the side of the stage as Harry presented an award to Santa Barbara County Fire Chief Mark Hartwig. She was wearing a Carolina Herrera sleeveless midnight blue shirtdress with a cinched waist and caramel brown pumps.

This isn’t the first time the couple has attended the event honouring local first responders.

Last year, Harry took the stage at the event to honour Santa Barbara County air support pilot Loren Courtney and he was also joined by Markle at the event in September 2023.

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The surprise appearance comes after the Duke of Sussex’s meeting with his father, King Charles III, earlier this month, for the first time in almost two years.

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During an exclusive interview with The Guardian, Harry said he would like to bring his American-born children, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, whom he shares with his wife Markle, to his home country.

“Yes, I would. This week has definitely brought that closer,” he told the British outlet on an overnight train to Kyiv after a short trip to the U.K.

Not much is known about the recent meeting between Harry and his father, other than they sat down for a cup of tea.

The Duke, who became entirely estranged from the Royal Family after he released his tell-all memoir Spare, did not share a great deal about the rift at the behest of his father.

Harry, who is not on speaking terms with his brother, Prince William, the Prince of Wales, said, “my conscience is clear,” while alluding to wanting to spend more time in the U.K. despite his public criticisms of his family.

His comments mark a shift in outlook from earlier this year, when Harry told the BBC he did not “see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the U.K.,” after losing a legal bid to retain his publicly funded police security detail provided to him when visiting Britain.

— With files from Global News’ Rachel Goodman

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