Wooo, this is going to be “controversial,” I know. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex came out of (relative) seclusion and they traveled to Miami, Florida late last week. They were in Miami so that Harry could give a speech at an exclusive JP Morgan event. Reportedly, they stayed at Serena Williams’ home, but that sounds like an utter fiction from the British tabloids, especially considering… Serena’s mansion is in Palm Beach, not Miami, and that would be more than an hour in the car to get to Miami. So what happened?

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were the keynote speakers at an exclusive JPMorgan event — in their first public appearance since leaving the royal family. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex turned up at the swanky 1 Hotel in Miami’s South Beach on Thursday night, The Post has been told. A source revealed: “It was all very hush-hush, with a lot of security. Meghan and Harry headlined the event as the keynote speakers.”

The event is believed to be the JPMorgan AIS (Alternative Investment Summit), held annually in Miami and attended by billionaires and high rollers like Bill Gates and Alex Rodriguez. It’s as yet unknown how much they were paid for the event, though the pair have said they plan to make themselves financially independent, so they will be paid for gigs like this.

[From Page Six]

After Page Six (and other outlets) broke the news of the Sussexes’ presence in Miami, the news was confirmed. Omid Scobie tweeted: “A source confirms reports that Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan travelled to Miami yesterday to attend a private @jpmorgan event. Only Harry spoke in front of guests (neither gave a keynote).” Traveled to Miami on Friday. So… did they fly in that morning? Or were they in Palm Beach at Serena’s house? The thing is, Serena wasn’t even there! Serena was in Washington state to play for Team USA at Fed Cup. As for the speech Harry gave, apparently it was about mental health:

Prince Harry has been in therapy for the last three years over the death of his mother, Princess Diana, he revealed at a Miami conference following an introduction by Gayle King. A source at the JPMorgan-sponsored Alternative Investment Summit — attended by a host of billionaires — said Harry emotionally opened up to the wealthy crowd about the childhood trauma of losing his beloved mother in 1997. The source said King — who has forged a close relationship with the royal couple — introduced Meghan, who then said a few words about her love for her husband, before introducing Harry.

The source said, “Harry spoke about mental health and how he has been in therapy for the past few years to try to overcome the trauma of losing his mother. He talked about how the events of his childhood affected him and that he has been talking to a mental health professional. Harry also touched on Megxit, saying while it has been very difficult on him and Meghan, he does not regret their decision to step down as senior royals because he wants to protect his family. He does not want Meghan and their son Archie to go through what he did as a child.”

[From Page Six]

Soon after this news came out, the silly season descended. People were like “Harry got paid a million dollars to talk about his mum!” Or “how dare he talk about his own mother!” Personally, I hope Harry did get paid and my guess is that the speaking fee was mid-to-high six-figures. They would be foolish to set their speaking rate anywhere lower than $500K. I would also guess that Harry and Meghan both have the freedom to say no to whatever gig they’re offered, so it means something that they said yes to this one, and it was probably because of Gayle King and “alternative investment.”

As for Harry speaking about his mother… he’s been speaking about his mother for free for years. And I’d be willing to bet that Page Six (and other outlets) are merely excerpting the parts of the speech that will get the most clicks. My guess is that he did reference his mother and his child and all that, but the context was probably quite interesting, and different than what we’re hearing. I mean, is it slightly tacky? Perhaps. But it’s also very tacky that Prince Andrew still has his HRH, his ducal title, his giant mansion and his mummy wanted to give him a big-boy promotion for his birthday.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid and WENN.