The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped out at a glitzy fundraiser in Canada to support their music mogul friend David Foster for an important cause
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle dressed to the nines for a major fundraiser in Canada, as they stepped out to support one of their friends for an important cause. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the glitzy event to support The David Foster Foundation – and Meghan shared behind the scenes footage showing them walking through a corridor at the venue lined with a group of pipers and drummers wearing traditional kilts.
Meghan shared a video of the moment on her Instagram, as she smiled alongside her husband while making jokes with the musicians. At the start of the video, the Duchess said: “My husband loves bagpipes!”
As they continued to walk past the pipers, Meghan added: “Oh my god, this is amazing!” Harry then joked with the musicians, asking: “Where are mine?” He then corrected himself that it wasn’t just pipers but “pipes and drums”.
The video then cut to a plate featuring what appeared to be an edible piano and musical notes before panning to the programme for the evening’s gala and concert.
As well as the video, Meghan shared a selfie of her and Harry smiling, with Meghan dressed in an elegant black one-shoulder evening gown by Canadian designer Greta Constantine, complete with her signature slicked back bun and a pair of diamond earrings that previously belonged to Princess Diana, while Harry donned a tuxedo for the formal event.
The couple’s friend David Foster founded the organisation in 1986 to provide financial support for Canadian families with children who need life-saving organ transplants and raise awareness of organ donation in Canada and the US.
During a photocall outside the event over the weekend, the Sussexes posed with Foster, who has won 16 Grammys during his impressive career, and his wife Katharine McPhee. The two couples have been friends for several years, and have previously been spotted on a double date together.
In 2019, Foster arranged for the Duke and Duchess to stay at a close friend’s mansion on Vancouver Island, telling the Daily Mail at the time: “’I felt honoured that I was able to help Meghan there because I’m a Canadian, and we’re a Commonwealth country – we’re the Crown’s. It’s important to us, so I grew up with that kind of sentiment. I was really happy to be able to help them to find a respite just to take a little time off.”
Foster’s wife Katharine, who went to school with Meghan, told Access Hollywood in 2020 that her husband and the Duke had a ‘really, really beautiful relationship’.
“They’re so cute. They’re like father and son,” she said. “We just stay in touch with them [the Sussexes]. But mostly, Meghan and I knew each other from childhood, but really Harry and my husband are friends. It’s really nice.”
Harry and Meghan’s attendance at the charity gala is their first joint public appearance since their family trip to the UK last month, which saw the couple, as well as their children Archie and Lilibet, reunite with King Charles and Queen Camilla at Highgrove in a private family meeting.
While Harry was in his home country promoting the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham, he was joined by his wife and children. It is believed they visited Althorp, where his late mother Princess Diana is buried as well as a remote Scottish island.