Meghan Markle only attended the LA Children’s Hospital Gala “for the photographs”, former friend of the duchess, Lizzie Cundy, has claimed.
Socialite Cundy, 56, was at the event with the Duchess of Sussex last Saturday.
The mother-of-two wore a red dress she first wore in 2021, designed by Carolina Herrera.
Cundy, who wore a similar-looking £259 Pia Michi dress to the event, said: “There wasn’t a great deal of warmth from people when she arrived.
“She wasn’t there long – she seemed to be there for the photographs.”
Cundy added: “Meghan needs LA more than LA needs her. LA people feel they’ve been played by her.”
Referring to their similar dresses, Cundy continued to tell The Mail: “I’d have worn a different one if I’d known.”
Cundy and the duchess were previously friends after meeting at a charity gala in 2013.
Cundy wore a very similar-looking dress to the Duchess of Sussex
Instagram / Lizzie Cundy
However, Meghan went on to “ghost” Cundy after the duchess met Prince Harry.
The socialite added: “Harry and Meghan were loved because they’re part of the Royal Family, but they’ve bad-mouthed the royals, who are loved in LA.
“It’s a shame because charity work is where her and Harry do great things.”
Speaking back in 2021, Cundy said: “We have a clip of her saying, ‘I want to be a London girl, I love London men and I love everything to do with London.
“I was asked to look after Meghan when she came over here. She wanted to meet someone.”
But the socialite claimed Meghan later cut all contact with her, adding: “She ghosted me once the engagement hit. She’s ghosted quite a lot of people, obviously, including her family, so I’m not the worst person she’s ghosted.”
At the event last weekend, Meghan was joined on the carpet by Kelly McKee Zajfen, the co-founder of Alliance of Moms, an LA “community of philanthropists who support pregnant and parenting teens in LA’s foster care system”.
Meghan then greeted Paul Viviano, a healthcare leader and a national children’s healthcare advocate, giving him a warm hug after posing with Zajfen.