Harry was at the film star’s Santa Barbara One805Live! annual event which raises money for first responders, cutting a casual figure in a suit with no socks, as he presented an award onstage to local helicopter pilot Loren Courtney

Prince Harry took to the stage at Kevin Costner’s polo field on Friday night – with Meghan Markle notably absent due to reported sickness.

Harry presented an award to a fellow helicopter pilot in the event celebrating the heroic actions of first responders. Harry attended the event last year, with many hoping his wife Meghan would in joining his for the 2024 event.

Harry spoke to the crowd at the Santa Barbara One805Live! annual event – raises money for first responders across the county and in a suit but no socks, presented an award onstage to local helicopter pilot Loren Courtney at the start of the evening soon after he arrived at 7pm. He joked about how they both felt more at home behind the controls of a helicopter than onstage. Also performing at the event was Pink, 1980s star Richard Marx and Kevin himself.

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (L) shakes hands with a guest from the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department at the One805Live Fall Concert ( 
Image:
Getty Images)

A source at the event said: “We were all hoping Meghan would attend like she did last year but the word is that she is sick and could not make it.” Harry is expected to travel to New York over the weekend to attend a series of events including the Diana Awards and an event held by the Halo Trust which Diana worked with before she died.

He is also due in the UK for an event on September 30. It comes after Edward Coram-James, a PR guru, believes the couple have made communication and branding errors, which have attributed to “their fall-from-public-favour”. Concluding in a blunt nine-word statement, Mr Coram-James added: “It’s just that they had a bad PR plan.”

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (L) shakes hands with a guest from the Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department at the One805Live Fall Concert ( 
Image:
Getty Images)

Harry and Meghan have seen a massive plunge in popularity since they moved to the US, a poll showed earlier this month. It was suggested Harry’s explosive claims against the royals were a big contributing factor to his declining popularity.

but Mr Coram-James has now offered his take on the research. He said: “To be fair to the Sussexes, they seem to have learned the lessons from bad PR, and appear to have turned the page.

“I attribute much of their fall-from-public-favour purely as a reflection of what can happen with bad PR. It does not mean that they’re bad people. For all we know, The Sussexes could be kind, caring and incredible people.”

The professional, who works for firm GoUp, believes Harry and Meghan have learned from their experience of “bad PR,” which he says can swiftly affect any celebrity or company in the public eye.

The professional, who works for firm GoUp, believes Harry and Meghan have learned from their experience of “bad PR,” which he says can swiftly affect any celebrity or company in the public eye. ( 
Image:
Getty)

“That’s the thing with PR: if it goes wrong, the public can, fairly or unfairly, decide that it makes you a bad person, where, when it goes right, the public can decide that you’re a good person. Its why communications are so key,” Mr Coram-James told Express.co.uk.

The survey found Harry maintains a stronger appeal to the younger generation. In a new poll conducted by Ipsos, 1,097 British adults – all aged between 18 and 75 – were asked whether they would support Harry if he were to return.

The survey, which was conducted between October 8 and 9, showed that 34 percent said they would support Harry – with 46 percent of the responders being aged between 18 and 35.