Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Join Tyler Perry in Birthday Celebration | Celebrate

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry celebrated their good friend Tyler Perry on the eve of the Duke of Sussex's milestone fortieth birthday.

On Sept. 14, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been seen leaving a birthday bash for Perry, as seen in photos obtained by the Daily Mail. The filmmaker turned 55 on Sept. 13, the day prior.

The pictures confirmed Prince Harry and Meghan sitting collectively in the backseat of a automotive, the place Meghan laughed and Harry held up a cellphone. According to the outlet, the celebration was additionally attended by Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Alicia Keys, actor Aaron O'Connell, Paramount and Nickelodeon CEO Brian Robbins and his clothier spouse Tracy Robbins. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are pleasant with the couple and marked their sixth marriage ceremony anniversary in May with a double date dinner.

The Daily Mail reported that an worker from a lighting firm apparently employed to assist enhance for the get together stated he noticed “a lot of music, dancing and singing” as he left. The outlet reported that the occasion was held at a Montecito dwelling.

“Lots of speeches and food too. Everyone was having a lot of fun. It was a good party,” the staffer stated about what he noticed. “There were a lot of famous people, but I cannot say any more.”

The celebration was held the day earlier than Prince Harry turned 40 on Sept. 15. PEOPLE understands that Harry deliberate to mark the event with a personal celebration in Montecito, surrounded by pals and household.

Prince Harry and Meghan, 43, are recognized to be shut with the multi-hyphenate entertainer, and Perry is the godfather of their daughter, Princess Lilibet, 3. 

The couple first linked with Perry when he reached out to Meghan across the time of her royal marriage ceremony to Harry in 2018. The Madea creator let the Duchess of Sussex know he was praying for her “and that he understood what this meant, and that he could only imagine what it was like,” she advised The Cut in 2022. Perry advised her that he was at all times out there for assist or recommendation, and she later took him up on that invitation.

“Sometimes, you can tell your life story to a stranger on a plane as opposed to some of the people that are closest to you,” the Duchess of Sussex stated, referencing her rapport with Perry.

In 2020, she stuffed him in on her household's keep in Vancouver, Canada amid an unsure future as she and Prince Harry introduced their choice to step again from their duties as working royals. Before the actor-director had even met the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, he provided his Los Angeles dwelling as a spot for them to stick with their son, Prince Archie, now 5, together with a safety element whereas transitioning out of their royal roles.

As Harry and Meghan put down roots with a “permanent home” in Montecito later that summer season, a supply advised PEOPLE that they have been actually appreciative of Perry's compassion.

“They're really grateful to Tyler Perry for his kindness,” the insider stated in summer season 2020. “They have endless gratitude to him for helping them during a complicated time.”

“With COVID and as they were stepping back from their royal duties, he provided them a safe haven,” they added.

Perry even welcomed them to their new abode with a grand piano as a housewarming present, telling them, “Write the soundtrack for your life,” in response to The Cut. He appeared in the docuseries Harry & Meghan, which debuted on Netflix in December 2022, the place he shared the story of how the Sussexes requested him to be Lilibet's godfather.

During an interview with the six-part collection, Perry stated that Harry and Meghan acquired “pretty serious” on a cellphone name. “I go, ‘Okay, what's going on?' They said, ‘Well, we'd like for you to be Lili's godfather.' I go, ‘Whoa.' I had to take a minute to take that in. And I thought, ‘I'd be honored. I'd absolutely be honored,' ” Perry remembered. 

After hopping off the cellphone, the director realized his settlement got here with a little bit of a situation.

“I called them back and go, ‘Uh, hold on a second — does this mean we gotta go over [to the U.K.] and do all of that in church with [the royal family] and figure all that out? ‘Cause I don't wanna do that,' ” Perry stated in the collection. ” ‘Maybe we can do a little private ceremony here [in the U.S.] and let that be that, and if you have to do it there, then that's okay.' ”

Can't get sufficient of PEOPLE's Royals protection? Sign up for our free Royals publication to get the most recent updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and extra!

Princess Lilibet was christened in a small ceremony at Prince Harry and Meghan's Montecito dwelling in March 2023. Perry flew in for the christening ceremony from his dwelling in Atlanta with a 10-person gospel choir that sang “Oh Happy Day” and “This Little Light of Mine,” a track that performed at Meghan and Harry's marriage ceremony.

Over the summer season, the Paley Center for Media introduced that Perry will probably be honored on the Paley Honors gala in Beverly Hills on Dec. 4 — with Prince Harry and Meghan anticipated to assist helm the celebrations. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are among the many tribute chairs alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Gayle King, Taraji P. Henson, George Lucas, Kerry Washington and extra.