Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's trip to Jamaica for the Bob Marley film premiere came after Paramount boss Brian Robbins' family invited them, it turns out.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are friends with Mr Robbins' family, a source told Web. The father of three is the CEO of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon and lives in Los Angeles with his wife, stylist Tracy James.
The source said 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.”
The couple are “delighted to attend the screening of One Love – which celebrates the late reggae singer's life – in Kingston on Tuesday night, the source added.
The Sussexes' friendship with the Robbins family is notable as Harry and Meghan look for new sources of income as their £80 million Netflix deal expires next year and their £15 million Spotify deal ended early last June.
What's also interesting is that Paramount owns Comedy Central, which airs South Park. In an episode of the show last February called “The Worldwide Privacy Tour,” Harry and Meghan were mockingly depicted in an advertising campaign to promote Harry's book “Waaagh.”
Mr. Robbins is a friend of many Hollywood stars and was seen posing with Tina Fey and Lindsay Lohan at the premiere of “Mean Girls” in New York just two weeks ago.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose with Brian Robbins, president and chief executive of Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon, and his wife Tracy James in Kingston on Tuesday evening
The Duke and Duchess with Paramount boss Brian Robbins and his wife Tracy James on Tuesday
Paramount owns Comedy Central, which airs South Park. In an episode last February called “The Worldwide Privacy Tour,” Harry and Meghan were mockingly depicted in an advertising campaign
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness and his wife Juliet on Tuesday for the premiere of Bob Marley: One Love at the Carib Theater in Kingston
They were also pictured with Jamaican Prime Minister Andrew Holness, who wants to make Jamaica a republic – with a referendum due to take place later this year.
Mr Holness told the current Prince and Princess of Wales during their trip to the Caribbean in 2022 that his country was “moving on” and intended to “fulfill our true ambitions and destiny as an independent, developed and prosperous country”.
The Sussexes' appearance came as Harry's father, the royal, prepared for hospital treatment for an enlarged prostate and Kate remains in hospital after abdominal surgery.
While other observers are still waiting for a statement from the Sussexes about Charles and Kate's hospitalization, royal commentator Phil Dampier told Web: “It looks like Harry and Meghan are popping up opening an envelope these days.”
“Under normal circumstances there would be nothing wrong with going to a film premiere. But at a time when his father is going under the knife and Jamaica is making noises about abandoning the monarchy, it's pretty insensitive.”
The Sussexes pose at Tuesday night's event with Marlene Malahoo Forte, Jamaica's minister for legal and constitutional affairs, who said last year that Jamaica could soon “cut ties” with the monarchy because it was time for the nation's future 'in' is Jamaican hands'
Harry and Meghan sit at the cinema in Kingston on Tuesday as they attend the film's premiere
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the red carpet premiere of the Bob Marley film on Tuesday
Prince Harry and Meghan with Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Holness and his wife Juliet
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet more guests on the red carpet in Kingston on Tuesday
The Sussexes also posed with Jamaica's Minister of Legal and Constitutional Affairs, Marlene Malahoo Forte.
Ms Malahoo Forte told Sky News ahead of the king's coronation last May that an “urgent” referendum could be held as early as 2024 to “sever ties” and remove Charles as Jamaica's monarch.
“Republicanism is about us moving away from a form of government tied to a painful history of colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade,” she said.
Meghan, 42, wore a long black A-line dress with gold earrings and had her hair pulled back into a slicked-back bun, while Harry, 39, wore a dark suit and an open-necked white shirt. Marley's son Ziggy was also present.
The biopic will be released in February and stars British actors Kingsley Ben-Adir as Marley and Lashana Lynch as his wife Rita.
Harry traveled to Jamaica in 2012 as a representative of his grandmother, the late Queen, during a celebratory Diamond Jubilee tour.
Father-of-three Brian Robbins lives in Los Angeles with his wife, stylist Tracy James (pictured).
Brian Robbins (front right) poses with other guests including James Norton (third right) at the premiere of Bob Marley: One Love at the Carib 5 Theater in Kingston, Jamaica, on Tuesday
Brian Robbins speaks during the premiere of Bob Marley: One Love in Kingston on Tuesday
Brian Robbins (far left) with James Norton (second from left) at the premiere in Jamaica on Tuesday
Earlier this month, Brian Robbins posed with Tina Fey (left) and Lindsay Lohan (right) at the premiere of Mean Girls at the AMC Lincoln Square Theater in New York on January 8, 2024
Brian Robbins (second from left) with Sandra Bullock (far left), Liza Chasin (second right) and Daniel Radcliffe (far right) at the premiere of The Lost City in Austin, Texas on March 12, 2022
The trip abroad was celebrated as a complete success: Harry sprinted with 100-meter Olympic champion Usain Bolt and danced to Marley's music in Kingston.
He showed his diplomatic talents by hugging and holding hands with then Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller just hours after she reiterated her intention to hold a referendum to remove Elizabeth II as head of state.
Meghan married her first husband, film producer Trevor Engelson, on a beach in Jamaica in 2011. The couple divorced less than two years later.
The former Suits star also wrote on her now-defunct lifestyle blog that her mother took her to the slums of Jamaica when she was 10 to teach her the “harsh realities” of life.