Prince Harry appeared “fed up of being paraded” and unable to “stage the rictus grin” during Kris Jenner’s star-studded 70th birthday celebration in Beverly Hills, according to royal expert and author Tom Bower.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined a host of A-list celebrities — including Oprah Winfrey, Adele, and Jeff Bezos — at the James Bond–themed soirée, held inside Bezos’s $165 million mansion. The lavish event marked the Kardashian-Jenner matriarch’s milestone birthday and drew Hollywood’s elite, from entertainers to tech moguls.
As the couple arrived hand-in-hand, photographers captured a striking contrast between their expressions. Prince Harry, 41, wore a classic black tuxedo with a red poppy pinned to his lapel in honour of Remembrance Day, yet looked notably stern as he entered the venue. Behind him, Meghan Markle, 44, followed closely, smiling brightly in a sleek, form-fitting black turtleneck and wrap skirt — a look that quickly drew headlines for being worn on the eve of Remembrance Sunday.
Royal biographer Tom Bower told The Daily Mail that the event would have been a major social win for the Duchess.
“Securing an invitation to the Kardashian birthday bash would have been a big plus for Meghan,” he said.
However, Bower noted that Harry’s demeanour told a different story.
“It’s noticeable that Harry is unable to stage the rictus smile which actress Meghan always displays for the cameras. He looks fed up being paraded — one day at a sports match, another at a celebrity party.”
The author also speculated on the Duke’s growing discomfort amid the couple’s increasingly public lifestyle.
“Clearly, he is now worried about what revenge his brother might one day carry out against himself and his ambitious wife,” Bower added.
Observers have noted that the Sussexes were not invited to Jeff Bezos’s 60th birthday celebration last year, which took place near their Montecito home. Bower suggested that Meghan’s recent appearance at this high-profile gathering signals a renewed push to reclaim her position in Hollywood’s inner circle.
“Meghan has ordered her staff to secure invitations to major celebrity events in her desperation to be noticed,” he claimed. “The Duchess has become not so much a guest-for-hire as a guest searching for publicity. And this time, she’s landed a major party trophy. For the first time, she’s mixing with A-list celebs. That’s a great coup for a Duchess searching for security and approval.”
The outing also coincides with Meghan’s highly publicised return to acting — nearly eight years after she left Hollywood to join the Royal Family.
The Duchess is reportedly set to appear as herself in the upcoming film Close Personal Friends, starring alongside Lily Collins, Brie Larson, and Jack Quaid. The Amazon MGM Studios production, filmed in Pasadena, follows two couples — one famous and one not — exploring the pressures of fame and friendship.
Meghan, best known for her role as Rachel Zane in the hit legal drama Suits, was recently photographed on set in Los Angeles, marking her first on-screen appearance since leaving the series in 2017. Her upcoming cameo is widely viewed as a symbolic return to the entertainment world she once left behind.
As Harry and Meghan continue to navigate their evolving identities between royalty and celebrity, their latest appearance has once again divided public opinion — with some praising Meghan’s confidence and others questioning the timing and optics of their Hollywood comeback.