Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Wanted a Going-Away Party With Celebrity Friends, But ‘Everyone Was Busy’

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly didn’t get to say goodbye to their A-list friends in California in the way they wanted.

In the Tuesday, September 1 edition of Rob Shuter’s Naughty But Nice Substack, sources revealed the Sussexes wanted to host a goodbye party. However, the response from their famous friends, including Tyler Perry and David Foster, was not what they expected.

“They started quietly feeling people out, and the response was basically crickets,” a source said. “They imagined this emotional send-off surrounded by the people who welcomed them to America. Instead, everyone was busy. It was embarrassing.”

“These weren’t supposed to be Hollywood acquaintances,” the insider explained. “These were supposed to be real friends.”

The insider noted that Perry, 56, “gave them extraordinary support when they arrived,” allowing them to stay in his California home for months after they first moved to the U.S. in 2020.

“Harry and Meghan genuinely believed they had built an American family,” the source added. “When there was a royal wedding, a Netflix deal or a big interview, everybody wanted a seat at the table. For the goodbye party, suddenly nobody could find a free night.”

As Star previously reported, the Spare author, 41, and the As Ever founder, 45, moved back to England on Wednesday, August 26, with their children, Prince Archie, 7, and Princess Lilibet, 5, and one Hollywood friend was reportedly helpful along the way.

According to the Saturday, August 22 edition of Naughty But Nice, a source claimed that Ellen DeGeneres “told them where to look, what to avoid and which areas offered genuine privacy without leaving them isolated from London.” The former talk show host, 68, lives in the Cotswolds region with wife Portia De Rossi and also has property in Montecito.