By Harriet Alexander and Martin Robinson Chief Reporter For Mailonline
03:34 17 Nov 2023, updated 05:21 17 Nov 2023
Meghan Markle on Thursday night attended a gala in Los Angeles, as she and Prince Harry attempt to distance themselves from the latest book by their former ally Omid Scobie.
Markle was among those gathering for Variety magazine’s Power of Women gala. She was their cover star last year and was among those garlanded in 2022, but was unable to attend the fall 2022 event due to the death of the Queen.
This year’s honorees included Carey Mulligan, singer Fantasia Barrino, ‘Killers of the Flowers Moon’ star Lily Gladstone, and Billie Eilish – who performed ‘What Was I Made For’ alongside her brother Finneas O’Connell.
The magazine presented a Producer of the Year Award to Margot Robie, who produced Barbie, and an Alumni Award to Emily Blunt.
Other attendees, Variety reported, included Leonardo DiCaprio, Dua Lipa, Emerald Fennell, Oprah Winfrey and Riley Keough.
Prince Harry did not appear to be in attendance.
The soiree came as the Sussexes attempted to deny Scobie’s claim in his new book that Markle and Prince Harry were kept in the dark about the Queen’s impending death.
In an excerpt of his latest book, Endgame, Scobie alleges that Prince Harry was ‘kept in the dark’ about the Queen’s health in the hours before she died, and that Prince William feels that he has ‘lost Harry and doesn’t want to know this version of him’.
Scobie, who previously released a biography on the Sussexes titled ‘Finding Freedom,’ said Harry, 39, and his 42-year-old wife Meghan had ‘no idea’ the Royal Family were preparing for the Queen’s death last year.
Yet MailOnline understands that Meghan and Harry categorically deny any suggestion they are ‘affiliated’ with the book.
They are also denying that Scobie – who has been friendly with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and co-wrote their biography Finding Freedom – is part of the ‘Sussex Camp’.
Experts have said that the Sussexes’ favored royal reporter’s new book is threatening a potential thawing in relations between the King and his youngest son.
The denial came after Harry and Meghan’s olive branch to the King on his 75th birthday.
Harry is believed to have telephoned his father on Tuesday – and they have reportedly agreed to chat again next week.
The Duchess of Sussex is also said to have spoken to her father-in-law from their home in California while the couple’s children – Archie, four, and Lilibet, two – recorded a video of themselves singing happy birthday to their grandfather.
In Endgame, Scobie recounts how the Sussexes had visited the UK for a series of engagements in September 2022 when the palace announced that Queen Elizabeth had been advised by her doctors to rest.
He writes: ‘By the next morning, 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 — until the duke’s phone started ringing. An unknown number. He usually ignored those.’
Meghan told her husband to pick up the phone and he accepted the call ‘just before it stopped’, the author wrote.
He continues: ‘Harry hadn’t spoken to his father much that year, but this was not the time for any father-and-son tension. Charles told him he and Camilla were about to leave Dumfries House for Balmoral, where Princess Anne was already by the Queen’s side. He told Harry to make his way to Scotland immediately.’
Harry sent a text message to his brother William asking how he and Kate planned to travel to Scotland and whether they could travel together, but got no response, Scobie claims.
He was later told William had managed to secure a flight with his uncles Prince Andrew and Prince Edward.
‘It was upsetting to witness,’ Scobie claims he was told by a source close to the Sussexes.
‘[Harry] was completely by himself on this.’
Scobie alleges that Palace ‘sources’ briefed certain newspapers that Charles had personally shared the news of the Queen’s illness with his son. He quoted a friend of the duke who said this left Harry ‘crushed’.
The journalists makes fresh claims about the damaged relationship between William and Harry.
The author also suggests William and Harry’s relationship is beyond repair because the Prince of Wales sees his brother as a ‘defector’
And in the extract shared with People, he claims ‘there is no going back’ for the brothers and ‘absolutely nothing has changed’ since the Duke of Sussex released his memoir, Spare, earlier this year.
A spokesperson for Buckingham Palace refused to comment on Endgame, due to be released on November 28, when approached by MailOnline.
James Parker is a UK-based entertainment aficionado who delves into the glitz and glamour of the entertainment industry. From Hollywood to the West End, he offers readers an insider’s perspective on the world of movies, music, and pop culture.
