MEGHAN Markle made Prince Harry feel like a spare part on their joint ventures, a royal expert claims.

The Duchess of Sussex made a surprise appearance – without Harry – at a Children’s Hospital gala in Los Angeles on Saturday.

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Meghan Markle attends the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) Gala on October 5Credit: The Mega Agency

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Prince Harry attends a Sentebale reception and panel discussion in Johannesburg, South Africa earlier this monthCredit: Getty
Meghan, who wore a plunging red Carolina Herrera gown, was seen greeting young fans and rubbing shoulders with the likes of Demi Lovato and Kaley Cuoco.

Earlier this month Harry made a solo trip to Lesotho in southern Africa, in order to drive work for his charity Sentebale.

That trip came after Harry made a brief visit to the UK – also without Meghan – to pay tribute to children and teenagers recognised at the WellChild Awards.

Royal author Phil Dampier told The Sun we may be seeing a “new normal” from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

He said: “In the last couple of weeks we’ve got used to seeing Harry flying solo, so to speak.

“He’s been in New York. He’s been in Africa. He’s been over here in London, and it’s fairly obvious that he’s decided to spread his wings and branch out and do things on his own.

“I think he felt that he was becoming a bit of a spare part with Meghan on some of the trips that he went with her to, certainly to Colombia and Nigeria.

“I think she came across as the dominant partner, and perhaps he felt a little bit like a sort of spare part, or sort of bolt on accessory, if you like, and I think that’s probably rankled with him a little bit.

“So he’s obviously decided to do things differently.”

The Duchess of Sussex ­had previously accompanied Harry to Africa in May this year, and to Colombia in mid-August.

A source close to Harry and Meghan previously said: “It is normal for couples to not do everything together.”

The Duke has recently attended a string of events in New York unaccompanied by his wife.

Mr Dampier said: “Well, now we’ve seen Meghan on her own as well, just to sort of reinforce the fact that to some extent they seem to be leading separate lives – certainly on the sort of work front.

“She’s turned up at a gala in Los Angeles wearing a dress, in fact, very stunning red dress that she’d she’d worn before on previous occasion with Harry a couple of years ago.

“And she looked, I have to say, she looked very relaxed. She looked very sort of happy.

“She was laughing and joking with the kids at this event at a Children’s hospital gala.”

He added: “Clearly they’ve decided that at the moment it’s better for them to go their separate ways in terms of their work commitments and their charity commitments.”

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Meghan Markle at the Municipal Theatre in Cali, Colombia, on August 18Credit: AFP

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Prince Harry shakes hands with Lesotho’s Prime Minister Sam MatekaneCredit: AP