Awkward moment Richard Marx almost ignores Prince Harry at Kevin Costner's charity event - as 'sick' Meghan Markle stays home

Richard Marx almost accidentally ignored Prince Harry as the royal waited backstage to congratulate him on his performance at Kevin Costner 's charity event yesterday.

The Duke of Sussex , 40, attended the annual One805Live! concert at Costner's oceanside estate in California without his wife, who was reported to be unwell.

During the event, the royal father-of-two took presented an award to local pilot Loren Courtney - and joked that they both felt more comfortable flying helicopters than onstage.

Stars such as Rob Lowe , Jeff Bridges and Pink attended the event to celebrate the heroism of first responders while Richard Marx was one of the musicians to perform.

Following his set, the rock star was filmed exiting the stage and being introduced to Prince Harry, who had been waiting in the wings.

Footage uploaded to Instagram by his wife Daisy Fuentes shows the Right Here Waiting singer almost walking past the royal - before a man off-camera points him in the right direction.

As he guides him to the royal, the man is heard saying: 'Richard? Prince Harry.'

The singer-songwriter looks stunned by Harry's presence as the royal reaches out for a handshake.

Before the clip cuts out, the royal is heard saying: 'Hey! Well done.'

Richard's wife Daisy - who is a model, comedian and former MTV host - then shared a picture of the rock star and royal deep in conversation.

The 57-year-old then tagged the Instagram account 'Prince Harry of England', which is run by a royal fan and boasts 410,000 followers.

Prince Harry has only ever publicly used Instagram via the former 'Kensington Palace' account - which has since rebranded to the Prince and Princess of Wales' official channel - and SussexRoyal, which has been inactive since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back as working royals in 2020.

Meghan Markle joined Prince Harry at the charity event last year and guests had hoped the Duchess would be in attendance again.

However, a source told the Mirror : 'The word is that she is sick and could not make it'.

Prince Harry is now expected to travel to New York over the weekend to attend other events, including the Diana Awards and an event held by the Halo Trust, which Diana was involved in.

Earlier this month, it was announced that the Duke of Sussex will be a guest at the annual WellChild Awards in his role as the charity's patron.

The national charity for seriously ill children is one of the few UK-based organisations that the prince kept links with after his acrimonious departure from royal duties and move to the US.

He chose to remain in the position, which he has held for 16 years, when his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, asked him to step down from his other royal patronages as a now non-working member of the family.

There was no mention of his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, accompanying him.

According to some reports she has vowed never to set foot in the UK again, and when she flew into the UK earlier this year when the couple visited Nigeria she didn't even set foot outside the airport.

On Monday the Daily Mail revealed that Harry may travel to the UK to attend the awards, after both Buckingham and Kensington Palace's chose to wish him happy 40th birthday on their social media channels.

With the King currently based in Scotland but returning to London regularly for his ongoing cancer treatment, it could give an opportunity for father and son to actually meet in private.

However the King has a major engagement in Scotland just two days before Harry's when he and Queen Camilla visit the Scottish Parliament to mark its 25th anniversary.

This suggests he could well remain north of the border while his son is in the country.

The last time they saw each other was in February when it was announced that the King had cancer and the prince flew from the US to see him briefly.

Earlier this week, Harry and Meghan also stressed how voting is a 'fundamental way to influence communities' and make a 'more equitable world' as they issued a new statement ahead of the US election.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who live in Montecito, California, marked National Voter Registration Day yesterday by getting the Archewell team to take part in a letter-writing activity.

The Archewell website outlined how the couple's staff used 'Vote Forward's impactful letter-writing tool' to encourage unregistered voters to vote in the presidential election in November.

The statement read: 'Voting is not just a right; it's a fundamental way to influence the fate of our communities.

'At The Archewell Foundation, we recognize that civic engagement, no matter one's political party, is at the heart of a more just and equitable world.

'By participating in initiatives like this, we aim to amplify the message that every voice matters.'