Prince Harry Steals the Spotlight With Onstage Quip at Kevin Costner's Charity Bash — But Where's Meghan Markle?

Prince Harry was all smiles and brought out some royal jokes when presenting an away at 2024's One805Live! charity concert in Carpinteria, Calif. on Friday, September 20. Once again, Santa Barbara County first responders were the toast of the evening, with Yellowstone actor Kevin Costner hosting at his home.

But unlike last year's event, Meghan Markle was a no-show for 2024 due to a reported "illness."

A beaming Duke presented an award to Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office helicopter pilot Loren Courtney. "As you’ve probably heard already, 22 years [of] military service over 10,000 hours and rarely sees his family because he’s always here flying helicopters," the fifth in line to the British throne quipped.

"You are one of the many heroes here tonight," Harry added. "There are people here tonight who are alive because of you and who are back to their families because of you… from everybody here, thank you so much."

Regarding the Duchess' absence, a source shared to an outlet, "We were all hoping Meghan would attend like she did last year, but the word is that she is sick and could not make it."

During the concert, the Duke met with '80s crooner Richard Marx, and the two shared a conversation while backstage. Kenny Loggins, Kevin Costner & Modern West and Joe Bonamassa rounded out the rest of the musical lineup.

This appearance follows reports showcasing how His Royal Highness is "doing well financially." Since Harry and Meghan left the Crown in early 2020, the duo have amassed a "whopping" $62.5 million dollars alone based solely on their projects. Meghan was rumored to have been worth roughly $5 million when she met her future Duke in 2016, whereas Harry had a reported $25 million dollars of inherited wealth in the bank.

The ex-actress garnered her "handful of millions" primarily from her acting role on the legal drama series Suits.

The duo signed megawatt deals in the fall of that year, "back when they were a hot commodity," as one royal insider described it. Spotify inked the "tell-all royals" for the podcast "Archetypes," which flopped, leading to the cancelation of their contract in June 2023.

A reported $100 million dollar deal with Netflix that autumn is "still inching along" even though it has scored only one hit, the 2022 "tell-all fest" Harry & Meghan. Two other non-fiction programs have dropped four years later — both tanked. The couple's contract is set to end next fall. An upcoming cooking and lifestyle program featuring Meghan, and the soon-to-be-released documentary POLO, is "hoped" to break the viewer stalemate.

The New York Post reported on Harry's concert quip.