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Meghan Markle to celebrate Lilibet’s billionaire godfather Tyler Perry as he bags award for ‘giving a voice’ in media
Tyler opened up about how Meghan and Harry asked him to be Lilibet's godfather
MEGHAN Markle will attend an A-list bash to celebrate Princess Lilibet's billionaire godfather Tyler Perry as he bags an award.
American actor and filmmaker Tyler will be honoured at the 2024 Paley Honors for “giving a voice to those underrepresented in media.”
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The Paley Center announced on Wednesday that Tyler, 54, will be given the award at the Paley Honors gala in Beverly Hills on December 4.
Meghan, 42, and Prince Harry, 39, are said to be among those who will support Tyler at the ceremony.
In a statement, Tyler said: "Throughout my career, I have strived to bring people together and to give a voice to those often underrepresented in media.
"Media has served as a vital platform for this mission, and I'm honoured to receive this award from The Paley Center for Media, an organisation that has dedicated itself to spotlighting the power and importance of media."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are said to be tribute chairs at the event, alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Gayle King, Taraji P. Henson, George Lucas and Kerry Washington.
The event - held at Beverly Wilshire Hotel - will be particularly poignant given that billionaire Tyler is Princess Lilibet’s godfather.
Madea actor Tyler, worth an estimated $1billion, grew close to Harry and Meghan after he reached out to the duchess following news of her estrangement from her dad Thomas Markle.
Speaking in the couple’s Harry & Meghan Netflix show, Tyler said: “I couldn't even imagine this woman finding the man that she loved, the man of her dreams, and him being a prince, and then to walk into all of that madness and need the security of family and then have your father do some horrible things.”
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The filmmaker added that he "immediately empathised" with Meghan, and said: "When my life changed and success started to come, family members became different people, and I know how hurtful and horrible it can be."
In the show Tyler also recalled when the couple asked him to be Lilibet's godfather in a conversation that was "pretty serious on the phone."
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He said: "I had to take a minute to take that in. And I thought, 'I'd be honoured. I'd absolutely be honoured'."
At the time, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex confirmed to ET that the couple's daughter was christened in a private ceremony at Harry and Meghan's Montecito home in March 2023.
According to People, between 20 and 30 guests were invited to the occasion, including Tyler.
After Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior working royals, Tyler offer them one of his homes to live in in LA.
Prince Harry recalled: "You said, 'Stay as long as you need to.'
“We said, 'Maybe we just stay forever.
"It was bliss, because no one knew we were there.”
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How did Tyler Perry become friends with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle?
DURING Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's self-titled Netflix docuseries, the latter recalls how she and the Duke of Sussex became friends with Tyler Perry.
The Suits actress and the Emmy Award winner first came into contact when Tyler reached out to Meghan in regards to her much-talked-about estrangement from her father Thomas Markle.
"I'd never met him before. He said he was praying for me, and if I ever need anything, he would be there," Meghan remembered.
"I was a wreck. I was just crying and crying. Sometimes, it's easier to open up to someone who knows nothing at all, and that was that moment with me and Tyler."
Tyler commented: "I'm not a royal watcher but I saw something about her father. I found it to be hurtful.
"I couldn't even imagine this woman finding the man that she loved, the man of her dreams, and him being a prince, and then to walk into all of that madness, and need the security of family, and then have her father do some horrible things.
"I immediately empathized with her. This was before the wedding...I sent her a note just praying for her to just be able to move through it, and to hold on, and that everything in her life has prepared her for this moment, or so I thought."
Flash forward to March 2020, Tyler offered the couple sanctuary at his Beverly Hills estate while they faced controversy for their choice to walk away from their positions as the Royal Family's senior members.
Tyler made the offer to the pair after paparazzi discovered their Vancouver Island hideout.
"Months and months and months went by. One day when we were in Canada, I finally called him after years, at that point. It was the first time we ever spoke," the Duchess of Sussex shared.
"We stayed in touch and when all of this happened and we needed to go, he said, 'What can we do to make this easier? How can I help you?'
"He's like, 'My house is safe, and I'll make sure you have security, and you take your time.'"
In Meghan and Harry's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, they discussed how Perry came to their rescue when they relocated to California.
Meghan told Oprah: “We didn’t have a plan, and we needed a house, and he offered security as well, so it gave us breathing room to try to figure out what we were going to do.”
The couple stayed in Perry’s house for three months before relocating to a home in Santa Barbara.