Why Meghan Markle didn't attend the Gracie awards in Beverly Hills

The Duchess of Sussex was named among the winners at the Gracie Awards on Tuesday night.

Meghan, 41, received the award for her Archetypes podcast, which debuted last year, however she was not present at the bash at the Beverly Wilshire in Los Angeles.

HELLO! understands that the Duchess had never planned to attend the event in person due to a personal commitment.

The Gracie Awards are presented by the Alliance of Women in Media Foundation to celebrate programming that was created by women for women. The Duchess was named as the Best Podcast Host for her series,which aimed to "dissect, explore and subvert the labels that try to hold women back" over the course of 12 episodes.

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Archetypes was launched with the aim of investigating "labels that try to hold women back" through conversations between Meghan and historians, experts and women who have experienced being typecast.

Mariah Carey, Paris Hilton, Serena Williams and Mindy Kaling were among the guests to feature on the podcast.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex signed a lucrative deal with Spotify to host and produce podcasts, estimated to be worth around 25 million US dollars (£18 million), in late 2020.

Following the announcement about her Gracie Award in March, Meghan said: "Thank you to the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation for this prestigious honor. This is a shared success for me and the team behind Archetypes – most of whom are women – and the inspiring guests who joined me each week."

Last week, Meghan was honoured at Ms Foundation's Women of Vision Award, recognising her "global advocacy to empower and advocate on behalf of women and girls".

The Duchess attended the glitzy bash in New York with her husband, Prince Harry, and her mother, Doria Ragland. See their arrival at the awards below…

In a passionate acceptance speech, Meghan said: "It’s never too late to start. You can be the visionary of your own life… There is still so much work to be done. I am a woman who remains inspired and driven by this organisation.

"It allowed me to recognise that part of my greater value and purpose in life was to advocate for those who felt unheard, to stand up to injustice, and to not be afraid of saying what is true and what is just and what is right."

However, it was revealed the following day after the awards, Meghan, Harry and Doria, were involved in a "near catastrophic car chase".

The couple's spokesperson said: "Last night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and Ms Ragland were involved in a near catastrophic car chase at the hands of a ring of highly aggressive paparazzi.

"This relentless pursuit, lasting over two hours, resulted in multiple near collisions involving other drivers on the road, pedestrians and two NYPD officers.

"While being a public figure comes with a level of interest from the public, it should never come at the cost of anyone's safety.

"Dissemination of these images, given the ways in which they were obtained, encourages a highly intrusive practice that is dangerous to all involved."

Paparazzi deny there were any near-crashes, while the NYPD said "numerous photographers" made the couple’s journey "challenging" but there were "no reported collisions, summonses, injuries, or arrests".

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