Meghan Markle was forced to miss her husband, Prince Harry's Living Legends of Aviation award ceremony after one of their children became unwell.
The news was confirmed by PA, who revealed: "The Duchess of Sussex, who had been expected to attend the event, was not present as one of their children became unwell the PA news agency understands."
© InstagramThe Duke and Duchess of Sussex are the proud parents of four-year-old Prince Archie and two-year-old Princess Lilibet. It wasn't confirmed which of their little ones were taken unwell but it was expected that Meghan would appear alongside her husband on the night.
In his first appearance in 2024, the Prince was honoured with a Living Legends of Aviation medal at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, for his work as a British Army veteran and pilot.
© Twitter/Misan HarrimanHarry completed two tours of Afghanistan as a forward air controller and an Apache helicopter pilot, having flown countless training missions in the UK, US, and Australia.
He also served for 10 years in the military, rising to the rank of Captain, and later founded the Invictus Games – a sporting event for wounded military personnel and veterans.
John Travolta presented the Duke, 39, with his medal and referenced the sweet moment he danced with the Duke's late mother, Princess Diana, at the White House in 1985.
Harry made a "poetic" speech according to Twilight director, Catherine Hardwicke, who told HELLO!: "He talked about taking off and being up in God's playground, up in the clouds, and he talked about the taste of magic [being up there,] it was poetic."
Harry has joined the A-List line-up of celebrities who have been coined aviation and aerospace "legends" including Buzz Aldrin, Jeff Bezos, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Morgan Freeman, Elon Musk, and Saudi Prince Sultan bin Salman Al Saud.
Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe shared a picture from inside the ballroom alongside the Prince and opened up to HELLO! about the encounter.
"I am very very happy that he is the focus of the night, and he deserves it," he said, adding: "He has been through a lot being so public and it is a very personal moment of joy for him. What I like to do is congratulate him for the big award, and I think we all should – how many big moments in life do we all have? It is very few and this is a very big moment.
"I congratulated him for being such an accomplished pilot, and I saw that he was very touched, it is a big award and it is very well deserved. He gave the most lovely speech, thanking others, not only accepting it for himself but also the aviation industry for making things happen [such as] engineers. I am very happy [for] him. He is fabulous, very humble, and sweet."
