Royals on celeb row! Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attended a Los Angeles Lakers game ahead of King Charles III‘s coronation — and got caught on the kiss cam.
The Duke of Sussex, 38, and the Duchess of Sussex, 41, enjoyed a date night at the Crypto.com Arena on Monday, April 24, watching the Lakers battle it out against the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 4 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs.
The duo — who share son Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 22 months — were captured on the kiss cam during the game, though footage shared via the NBA’s official Instagram account didn’t show whether the pair actually shared a smooch. “Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in LA! #NBACelebRow,” read the caption on the video.
After Harry noticed that he and his wife were on the Jumbotron, he leaned in to whisper something to the former actress, who responded with a laugh. After giving the crowd a wave, the Suits alum then grabbed her husband’s arm while still giggling.
The Sussexes weren’t the only celebrities in attendance at the basketball game, which saw the Lakers triumph over the Grizzlies with a score of 117-111. Kim Kardashian sat courtside with her eldest son, Saint, 7, and her mom, Kris Jenner. Saint did his part to support Khloé Kardashian‘s ex Tristan Thompson, wearing a Lakers jersey with the Canada native’s number on it. Thompson, 32, recently signed with the L.A. team after his contract with the Chicago Bulls expired.
Harry and Meghan’s outing came days after news that the Invictus Games founder will attend the coronation of his father, 74, without his wife. “Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that The Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on May 6th,” read an April 12 statement from the palace. “The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.”
The date of the festivities — Saturday, May 6 — coincides with Archie’s 4th birthday. After news broke that Meghan wouldn’t be traveling to the U.K. for the ceremony, an insider exclusively told Us Weekly that she wanted to spend the day with her son instead.
“As much as Meghan appreciates the invite to the coronation, she wouldn’t miss her son’s birthday for the world. Despite being the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan is a mom first,” the source explained earlier this month. “She feels very grateful to be included in such a special occasion by the royal family and is glad that Harry can go and show support on behalf of their family. But being the same day as Archie’s birthday, unfortunately, she’s just going to have to miss out on this one.”
The Bench author recently slammed reports that her decision to stay home was based on a series of letters she exchanged with Charles after her and Harry’s bombshell March 2021 interview on CBS.
“The Duchess of Sussex is going about her life in the present, not thinking about correspondence from two years ago related to conversations from four years ago,” Ashley Hansen, the global press secretary for the Archewell cofounders, said in a statement to Harper’s Bazaar on Saturday, April 22. “Any suggestion otherwise is false and frankly ridiculous.”
The denial came one day after The Telegraph reported that Meghan and Charles exchanged correspondence about the CBS sit-down — specifically the portion where the Sussexes claimed an unnamed member of the royal family questioned “how dark” Archie’s skin would be. According to the newspaper, the alleged correspondence factored into the California native’s decision not to attend the coronation.
“The Duchess is believed to have thanked the King for his words,” the Telegraph claimed, alleging that the letters named the person who made the comments. “The Duchess’s letter is also said to suggest that she had never intended to specifically accuse the individual involved of being a racist, but was raising concerns about unconscious bias.”
The outlet went on to claim that the king and duchess agreed in the letters that the comment about Archie was “an innocent observation.”
