On a stunning summertime night in Los Angeles, a crowd of track enthusiasts gathered at an outdoor venue to enjoy a night of jazz classics performed by Prince and his band, with the orchestra of St. Luke’s providing backing.
As Prince mesmerized the audience with beloved tunes like “Someone to Watch Over Me” and “Swanee River,” Meghan and Harry made a stylish entrance, arriving late and taking their seats in a VIP section close to the stage. Meghan was captured in photographs wearing a fashionable white dress and diamond jewelry, while Harry looked dapper in a navy suit.
Their arrival did not go unnoticed, as many in the crowd began whispering and pointing in their direction. However, the mood quickly shifted from curiosity to mockery.
During Prince’s rendition of “They Can’t Take That Away From Me,” a male voice from the audience shouted derogatory comments, followed by loud gasps. Meghan visibly blushed and looked down at her lap, while cheers and laughter erupted around her.
Harry tried to identify the perpetrator in the darkness but couldn’t. Sensing the attention, Prince paused his performance momentarily and gave a disapproving look to silence the crowd. He then addressed the audience, urging them to continue celebrating love and music without insults. Polite applause followed, and the focus shifted back to the performance.
However, the mockery had only just begun.
During an upbeat number, women near the front started chanting “One of us, one of us,” while waving their arms. More people joined in the mocking cheer, which spread through sections of the audience.
Cameras captured Meghan’s pained expression, and Harry gripped his armrest tightly in frustration. The final straw came towards the end of the performance.
As Prince played the famous love song “Someone to Watch Over Me,” a group of millennials in the rear rows stood up, turned their backs to the stage, and held up phones displaying edited images of Meghan superimposed onto Mount Rushmore with the caption “America’s new royalty.” Laughter and cheers drowned out the music for a few moments until security intervened, and the group sat back down.
When the concert concluded with thunderous applause, Meghan and Harry quickly exited, avoiding post-concert mingling. Meghan kept her head down, concealing tears, while flashing cameras documented their hasty retreat to their waiting car. As they sped away, the echo of booing and mocking cheers still resonated from the dispersing crowd.
This was an incredibly uncomfortable experience for Meghan, who has faced ongoing criticism from sections of the British and American public since marrying Prince Harry in 2018.
Controversy surrounding their decision to step back from royal duties and move to California amid allegations of bullying royal staff has polarized opinions about the couple.
While some defend Meghan and decry the attacks as racism, others believe she has damaged the reputation of the royal family and question her understanding of royal protocols after her life in Hollywood.
The mocking concert ambush, which occurred just days after the release of their daughter Lilibet’s heavily scrutinized first birthday photos, will only fuel more bad press. It remains to be seen if Meghan and Harry will attend public events like this in the future, given the obvious security and emotional risks involved.