Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were honored at a charity gala emceed by embattled actor Alec Baldwin in Manhattan on Tuesday night — as the British royal family braces for their explosive Netflix series.
Markle, dressed in a stunning off-the-shoulder white gown and spiked black heels, smiled broadly as she and her husband, wearing a dark blue suit and white shirt, made their way into the Hilton past the throngs of cameras.
The couple appeared as if they didn’t have a care — as Britain’s royal family and the world wait for the premiere of their Netflix series “Harry & Meghan’’ to drop Thursday. Sources have told Page Six that Harry, 38, and Meghan, 41, “will claim they were bullied by the palace,’’ among other things, in the series.
The pair of former royals were being feted at the Ripple of Hope Awards, an event thrown by the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization.
Harry and Meghan were named “Ripple of Hope” laureates, an honor bestowed on what the organization calls “exemplary leaders across government, business, advocacy, and entertainment who have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to social change and worked to protect and advance equity, justice, and human rights.” Previous recipients have included President Obama.
They had been joined on the red carpet by Kerry Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy’s daughter and the former wife of disgraced ex-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
Baldwin — who accidentally shot and killed “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, 42, last year — attended the event with wife Hilaria and claimed to reporters beforehand that he was unaware of Harry and Meghan’s upcoming bombshell Netflix series.
Asked what he admired about Harry, Baldwin — notorious for his temper with paparazzi — said he appreciates how the prince “handles difficult circumstances with the press without having too much difficulty.’’
Of Harry and Meghan, who famously ditched the royal family in 2020, Baldwin added, “They obviously have chosen a different path, and good for them.
“Sometimes I think I want to choose a different path, so we’ll see,’’ the beleaguered star said before quipping, “Maybe I can be their driver.’’
Harry and Meghan arrived in New York City on Monday by private jet and were greeted by friends on the tarmac before camping out at the lux Carlyle hotel in Midtown.
Harry’s older brother and sister-in-law, Prince William and Kate Middleton, visited Boston last week.
A source with knowledge of Harry and Meghan’s Netflix series has told Page Six that the pair “will discuss how they felt their best interests were not being represented by the palace, and they’ll talk about being victims of the palace media machine.”
But a former adviser to the late Queen Elizabeth and other royals warned the couple about courting further press attention of any kind — and chided Harry for expressing his fears that Meghan might suffer the same fate as his late mother Princess Diana, who died in a car crash fleeing paparazzi.
“I first met Diana three days before [her] wedding. I knew Diana right up until the time that she died. I worked with her and for her for five years. There are times when she did court the press,” Dickie Arbiter told TalkTV.
“Harry says he doesn’t want happening to Meghan what happened to Diana. Well, a lot of the fault was Diana’s,” he said.
“She went out of her way to talk to [the press] privately,” the former adviser added.
In the trailer for the docuseries, Harry said he was “terrified” by the press coverage of Meghan.
“I didn’t want history to repeat itself,” he said.
Additional reporting by Kate Sheehy
