The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have appeared in public several times without their partners in recent weeks

There’s nothing like a solo public appearance to really set break-up rumours rife, much to the dismay of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Thankfully, however, despite speculation of ‘trouble in paradise’ surrounding Prince Harry’s one-man appearance at a Canadian Football game this weekend, it turns out that there was a perfectly reasonable explanation as to why Meghan Markle wasn’t there.

Take that, tabloids…

The sport-loving Prince, 40, rocked up to the Grey Cup in Vancouver – the championship game of the Canadian Football League – on Sunday 17 November, where he promoted the upcoming Invictus Games.

Harry was spotted without Meghan at a Canadian Football League game this weekend (Rich Lam/Getty Images)

The tournament – developed by Harry, which sees wounded, injured and sick armed force members (either serving or veterans) – also lands in the Canadian city in February, hence his appearance on the sporting panel to discuss it.

Spectators couldn’t help but wonder, however, why his American wife was absent from the trip – especially due to her close connection to Canada, having lived there whilst previously filming the hit law drama Suits.

Harry mentioned that Meghan, 42, had remained at their California home in Montecito for the weekend with their two children – Archie, five, and Lilibet, two.

Rumours of a rift between the pair – who tied the knot back in 2018 after two years of dating – were also heightened by the fact Meghan had recently enjoyed a solo night of her own.

The pair have been spotted solo several times since their trip to Colombia in August

The Duchess was papped enjoying a night out on Los Angeles with her gal pals to celebrate the launch of her colourist Kadi Lee’s very own hair care brand.

In fact, both Meghan and Harry have enjoyed a handful of events without their partners since travelling to Colombia together in August.

Despite what the couple’s haters might want you to believe, however, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the pair have gone their separate ways.

In fact, according to one Royal source, the pair’s solo public appearances actually form part of a plan they’ve reportedly formed which will see them splitting their business ventures whilst remaining focussed on their joint Archewell Foundation.

“Harry and Meghan have consistently pursued solo ventures in connection with their individual interests,” an insider told Hello! this week.

“But remain deeply committed to their joint efforts through Archewell.”

They went on: “Together they have exciting projects in the pipeline, all driving forward their shared mission for positive global impact.”

Meghan attended a brand launch without Harry earlier this month (Gregg DeGuire/WWD via Getty Images)

It is likely, therefore, that ahead of the 2025 Invictus Games, and the release of Meghan’s long-awaited lifestyle company ‘American Riviera Orchard’, we’ll see the couple continue to put their solo projects first.

Meghan is also understood to be working on a cooking/entertainment Netflix series – another of her self-fronted projects.

Tyla contacted Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s representatives for comment on Hello!’s sourcing.