Meghan Markle was a no show at this year's Met Gala ball last night despite widespread speculation that the Duchess of Sussex would attend the fashion event.
The former Suits actress was rumoured to be making her debut for this year's red carpet as her husband Prince Harry gets ready to attend King Charles' Coronation next week.
However, the Sussexes seemingly remained at home in California last night as the annual Met Gala took place in Manhattan, New York, the Mirror reports.
The royal couple are currently organising a party to celebrate their son Archie's fourth birthday which falls on the same day as the Coronation on May 6.
It's believed one issue that Meghan may have faced if she attended the Met Gala would have been the amount of security required to ensure her protection.
Harry and Meghan almost served as Oscar hosts in 2018, according to reports, but security risks stopped it from happening. Gossip blogger Elaine Lui wrote on LaineyGossip at the time: "There were calls back and forth between teams, some early fashion queries were even made.
"They couldn't make it work. My sources told me, though the willingness was strong on both sides, it's very unlikely that it will happen." The theme for this year's Met Gala was in honour of late fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld who passed away in 2019.
The exhibition titled ' 'Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty', will commemorate the style icon's work at Balmain, Patou, Chloé, Fendi, Chanel, and his eponymous label.
While the usual Met Gala Queens such as Kim Kardashian confirmed they would be attending the fundraiser prior to the event, Meghan's possible debut on the red carpet was a secret affair.
Many fashion PR experts opined that Anna Wintour, a chairwoman of the Gala event since 1995, would be eager to snub the Duchess while others argued that Meghan was the perfect fit for the Vogue editor's brand.
Speaking of the chances of Meghan attending the fashion extravaganza, Matt Yafonsky previously told the Mirror: "Kim [Kardashian] is famous for being famous and a controversial figure, and so is Meghan,
"It makes sense Vogue would invite two controversial celebrities. They guarantee press attention, which guarantees eyeballs, which guarantees advertisers money. It may be classy, but it’s still all about the Benjamins at the end of the day."
Wintour has previously praised Meghan for her style and slammed critics of the Duchess' daily morning routine.
In her Vogue series Go Ask Anna, Wintour said: "I read somewhere that there were members of the royal household that were confused and upset that she woke up so early, at 5 a.m.
"She’s a normal California girl who gets up early and does yoga and meditates. She also sent a lot of text messages. I mean, what did they expect? That she was going to send messages via pigeon? I think she’s amazing."
The Vogue Editor also spoke of Meghan's wedding to Prince Harry in May 2019 and commended the Duchess for her fashion choices on the day. Speaking of her bridal gown, she said: "I think that her choice was brilliant. It was sophisticated, it was chic, it was grown up."
Meghan's impressive day-to-day style has also caught the attention of the notoriously hard-to-please fashion legend over the years as Wintour previously gushed over the former Suit's star wardrobe choices.
According to Page Six, Wintour said in a 2019 appearance at the Women in the World summit in New York: "Maybe it’s a little bit boring and time to change. I’ve been thinking a lot about suits recently so … thank you to the Duchess of Sussex!"
She added: "Obviously, her style is fantastic. When she went on that trip to Australia and New Zealand, she was very respectful in choosing a lot of unknown Australian designers to wear, which was great. But I think, more importantly, she’s really bringing modernity to the royal family in a way that is inspiring."
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