Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were back in the spotlight this week when they attended the premiere of Bob Marley: One Love in Jamaica. The Bob Marley biopic will be released in February and stars British actors Kingsley Ben-Adir as Marley and Lashana Lynch as his wife, Rita. While at the premiere, the Sussexes rubbed shoulders with the A-list, including the film’s lead actor Ben-Adir and co-star James Norton, and Bob Marley’s son Ziggy; they were also pictured with the Jamaican Prime Minister, Andrew Holness. The premiere came a few days after Harry attended the 21st annual Living Legends of Aviation Awards in Beverly Hills, which Meghan missed because one of the couple’s children reportedly wasn’t feeling well.

With King Charles and Kate Middleton still recovering in hospital from recent medical procedures, it didn’t take long for the inevitable backlash against Harry and Meghan to start. Charles is undergoing treatment for an enlarged prostate while Kate is recovering from abdominal surgery in hospital for a period of 12 – 14 days.

Some headlines called the couple ‘insensitive’ for attending the premiere while Charles is in hospital. Others suggested that Harry and Meghan were making a ‘subtle dig’ to the royal family because they were pictured posing next to ‘anti-royal’ Jamaican prime minister. In the past, Holness has spoken about Jamaica ‘moving’ on to become a republic, which would mean a break from the monarchy.

Some even went as far as to suggest that Meghan and Harry attended the premiere as a dig to William and Kate.

Royal commentator Omid Scobie shared a video of the premiere on X, captioning the post ‘A different vibe to the last time we saw PM Andrew Holness with members of the Royal Family…’

Scobie appears to be referring to the Wales’s visit to the Caribbean in 2022. The tour was overshadowed with suggestions that the images released had overtones of colonialism, particularly one unfortunate shot in Jamaica which saw the Wales’s on one side of a chain fence greeting a group of children. It was on this tour that Holness told the Wales’s that Jamaica is ‘moving on’ and intends to ‘fulfil our true ambitions and destiny as an independent, developed, prosperous country.’ During that visit, Prince William had spoken of his ‘profound sorrow’ over slavery, saying it ‘forever stains our history.’

But, despite these headlines, the reality of why Meghan and Harry attended the premiere is very different. The Sussexes were reportedly guests of the family of Brian Robbins, chief executive of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, with sources saying the couple were ‘delighted’ to be there. Alongside rubbing shoulders with many famous faces, Meghan and Harry also posed for a picture with Robbins and his wife Tracy James – sparking speculation that they were there as a networking opportunity. Robbins is well known power player in Hollywood and regularly rubs shoulders with famous faces – just a fortnight ago, he was pictured with Tina Fey and Lindsay Lohan at the Mean Girls premiere in New York.

The source told Mail Online that Harry and Meghan ‘have long been fans of Bob Marley’s music and message’ and ‘have a personal friendship with the Robbins family, who invited them.’

Their appearance at the film premiere comes at an important time for the Sussexes. Their multi-year deal with Spotify collapsed in June 2023 after they produced just one major podcast, and their five-year Netflix deal – allegedly worth £80 million – was reported to be winding down. Naturally, the fact that Robbins and the Sussexes were pictured together led to speculation of a possible new media deal at a time when Harry and Meghan could use a boost to their careers.

So, instead of being a dig of any kind, Meghan and Harry could have been attending the event as a way of positioning themselves as Hollywood power players – a process that was set in motion a while back. For instance, last year Meghan reportedly signed with renowned Hollywood talent agency William Morris Endeavour (WME), which has represented global superstars such as Dwayne Johnson, Adele, and Serena Williams. Back in 2020, Harry was filmed meeting Disney CEO Bog Iger on the red carpet for London’s premiere of The Lion King, where he seemed to highlight Meghan’s interest in voiceover work – to which Bob replied, ‘We’d love to try.’ Three months later, Meghan recorded a voiceover for the Disney film Elephant.

Plus, it’s no secret that the couple have been steadily surrounding themselves with a close-knit circle of A-list friends since moving to Montecito, California. They are said to be close to big names such as Gayle King, Oprah Winfrey and Gloria Steinem, and earlier last year, Meghan was pictured dining at Sushi Bar Montecito with Gwyneth Paltrow (along with Cameron Diaz and Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd).

There have also been several hints that the Sussexes have more personal projects in the pipeline. At Variety’s Power of Women event in November, Meghan hinted at some of her upcoming projects in the entertainment sphere. ‘Things that make people feel…I was gonna say good, but it’s more than that. Things that make people feel something, right?’ Meghan said. ‘And feel a sense of community. But we have so many exciting things on the slate. I can’t wait until we can announce them. We’re just really proud of what we’re creating, and my husband is loving it too.’

It’s a familiar tale that the Sussexes are met with criticism whatever they do. If they speak, they’re centring themselves – and if they lay low, they’re silent. There’s no winning. So, while their critics seem determined to make out like them attending a premiere was a ‘dig’ to the royal family, it seems Meghan and Harry are much more focused on making 2024 the year they break Hollywood. As for what this year has in store for the Sussexes – watch this space.