Their separate tracks signal a big shift for the couple.

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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry each stepped out solo this weekend as they attended different events across North America. The Duke of Sussex made a surprise appearance at a Canadian football cup final, while the duchess stayed in LA to attend the launch of her latest investment.

The Duke of Sussex was spotted grinning as he stood pitchside in Vancouver to watch the Toronto Argonauts take on the Winnipeg Blue Bombers in the Grey Cup football final. The prince was in the city to promote the Invictus Games, which will take place between Vancouver and Whistler in early February next year, and gave an interview to The Sports Network as he arrived, saying he was “looking forward to the game getting started.” Harry seemed to be in excellent spirits, waving to the crowd and giving a cheery thumbs-up at their delighted reaction. “This time in less than three months we’ll be back for the opening ceremony in February, so that’s what we’re really excited about,” he told TSN.

Prince Harry looked delighted to be watching the 2024 Grey Cup at BC Place.

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Meghan has previously accompanied her husband to the Invictus Games: In late 2023 she joined Prince Harry a few days late in Düsseldorf for the sixth annual competition and, in a speech, said that she would one day want to bring the couple’s children to the event so that they could experience it for themselves. “I am thrilled that the first event I can do for Invictus is here with all of you. It is amazing and I hear it has got off to a good start so far,” she said at one event.This time, however, the Duchess of Sussex remained in LA to attend a glamorous launch party for A-list hairdresser (and old friend) Kadi Lee, who has recently established a new hair wellness range under her brand, Highbrow Hippie. Markle showed up at celebrity-loved restaurant Gjelina wearing an elegant black ensemble from high-end designer Khaite and presented Lee with a bunch of roses picked from her own garden in Montecito, California. The duchess—who has personally invested in Highbrow Hippie and has relied on Lee’s color expertise herself—spoke at the get-together, joking with other guests that when she met Lee, she was “using boxed dye.” She added to InStyle that “Kadi has a mastery of hair health, and her Highbrow Hippie collection is a perfect reflection of that. I am so proud to invest in her as a friend and as a female founder.”

Meghan Markle joined Kadi Lee and Serge Normant at the Highbrow Hippie launch party held at Gjelina restaurant in LA.

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Markle was joined at the launch by fellow friend and makeup artist Daniel Martin as well as the celebrity hairstylist Serge Normant—the man responsible for the duchess’s understated up-do at her wedding to Prince Harry in 2018, who is said to have introduced her to Lee. The duchess probably gets her color topped up in the privacy of her Montecito mansion, but should she choose to pop to Lee’s boho salon in Venice, she’d be in good company: Julia Roberts, Brad Pitt, and Sigourney Weaver are reportedly regulars. “Our goal is to expand the definition of a salon and return to its historical meaning—a gathering place to exchange thoughts and ideas,” says the Highbrow Hippie webpage, adding that the intention is “to refocus on self-care, community, and experience.”

Markle has invested in several up-and-coming brands, including oat latte company Clevr Blends as well as handbag label Cesta Collective. Earlier this year she attended the business networking event G9 Ventures Summer Summit, held at the $13 million estate of power broker Amy Griffin and her billionaire hedge fund husband, John Griffin. Among the other guests were Naomi Watts, Reese Witherspoon, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Julianne Hough.

Meghan Markle partied with her friends at the launch of the Highbrow Hippie collection, in which the duchess has invested.

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No doubt Markle is taking a particular interest in business and innovation at the moment as she prepares to officially launch her own brand, American Riviera Orchard, with sources telling Us Weekly that Meghan “couldn’t be more excited” about the lifestyle project. Netflix has also lined up a cooking show in partnership with the duchess, linked to the launch of her brand—with those in the know telling the same publication that the series will be “a take on her and the joy of living” and include “little things she’s learned in terms of being a modern-day hostess” as well as cameos from famous faces.

For now it would seem that while Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are very much united behind closed doors, they are focusing on their own individual projects in public. “It’s clear that a twin-track approach is evolving,” a friend of the couple told People. With Markle steadily building her lifestyle empire and Harry engaging far more obviously in his charity causes, it appears that the Sussexes’ public image is undergoing a marked shift—as the couple continues to divide and conquer.