It is being reported that Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, known for stepping away from the royal family, staged a dramatic reunion because of his financial struggles.

An insider told Star that the hidden agenda behind Prince Harry’s recent visit to the United Kingdom was about finances.

For those unversed, the Duke of Sussex and his wife, Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, lived apart from the monarchy for four years. The couple, who stepped down from their royal duties in 2020, relocated to Montecito, California, and after six months, they reportedly broke all ties with King Charles.

Their drastic measure cost them their estimated $20 million Spotify deal in 2023, as top executive Bill Simmons severely criticised them, calling the couple “f***ing grifters.”

Now, this reunion is seen as an important moment for their strained relationship; however, the insider claimed money might have been a primary reason behind Prince Harry’s 54-minute meeting with King Charles on September 10.

The source reported that his meeting with King Charles was his way of making sure he does not face more financial issues in the future.

Both Prince Harry and his wife Meghan have completely understood that they “need to somehow put an end to this war with the monarchy, if only to avoid the very real prospect of financial ruin,” the insider said.

This comes after Rob Shuter’s ShuterScoop report published on August 18 stated that the Duchess of Sussex’s business venture As Ever is “out of cash” and is struggling to even pay vendors.

It is pertinent to mention that Newsweek reported on September 5 that the sophomore season of Meghan’s Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, received an underwhelming response, which has not helped her situation.

Some of the biggest American names in comedy have signed up to perform at a festival in Saudi Arabia, and they’re being urged to speak out against the country’s human rights abuses — and not to be “complicit in covering up the abuses of a repressive regime,” by the U.S.-based Human Rights Watch organization.

Saudi Arabia will host the Riyadh Comedy Festival, which organizers say will be the “world’s largest comedy festival,” from Sept. 26 to Oct. 9. Some of North America’s most popular comedians, along with comics from Europe and elsewhere, are featured on the bill, including Dave Chapelle, Kevin Hart and Bill Burr.

The festival will be the latest in a series of sports and cultural events hosted by Saudi Arabia’s government that critics say amount to an effort to obscure the country’s reputation for rampant human rights abuses.

“The Saudi government has invested billions into high profile entertainment events like these in a deliberate effort to whitewash the country’s human rights record and deflect from the egregious abuses that continue to happen inside of the country,” Human Rights Watch researcher Joey Shea told CBS News. “These investments are a part of the broader strategy to… have people thinking about a comedy event, for example, rather than the soaring number of executions that are happening inside of the country.”

HRW noted specifically the state execution of journalist Turki Al-Jasser, who was killed in June following seven years of detention after reportedly being identified as the author of several anonymous tweets criticizing the Saudi royal family.

Al-Jasser had been convicted of terrorism and high treason on the basis of posts he was accused of authoring, according to UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay. Reporters Without Borders, an organization that works to protect journalists, branded the charges against him as “false.”

“This execution of a journalist went forward to very little international criticism and this is clearly a result of these billions that had been invested in the country’s whitewashing strategy,” Shea said.

When asked whether they believed the comedians would be able to freely tell jokes at the festival, the HRW researcher predicted there would be clear red lines drawn by organizers to prevent any criticism of Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, who has already taken over as ruler of the highly conservative Islamic kingdom, as well as his policies and the broader royal family.

Shea called on the high-profile entertainers attending the event — funding for which comes from the Saudi government’s General Entertainment Authority — to mitigate the positive effect that their presence might have on the country’s reputation for human rights abuses, including by “speaking out about the abuses.”

Tom Dillon, one of the comedians scheduled to perform at the Riyadh festival, claimed on his podcast that he’s being paid $315,000 for a single show, and that some of his more famous colleagues would receive around $1.6 million for their appearances. 

CBS News has contacted the publicists representing billed attendees Bill Burr, Mark Normand, Kevin Hart, Sebastian Maniscalco, Dave Chapelle, Louis C.K., Whitney Cummings, Tom Segura, Andrew Schulz and Jim Jeffries, but has received no comment from any of them regarding their expected appearances in Saudi Arabia.

CBS News asked Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for comment on HRW’s assertions, but has not received a response.

One of the highest-profile cases of the Saudis’ purported efforts to change their image came in 2021, with the launch of LIV Golf, a golf league that saw seasoned professionals defect from the famed PGA Tour in exchange for highly profitable contracts. 

Critics accused the golfers of helping the Saudi government to “sportswash” its reputation, only three years after Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, an outspoken critic of the county’s leadership, was brutally murdered inside a Saudi diplomatic office in Istanbul, Turkey. 

A CIA report concluded with a medium to high degree of confidence that the killing was likely carried out at bin Salman’s orders. 

In a 2019 interview with CBS’ 60 Minutes, bin Salman denied ordering Khashoggi’s assassination, but said he took responsibility for it.

Sofía Vergara had to miss television’s biggest night this year due to a medical emergency.

The Modern Family alum, 53, addressed her absence in an Instagram post, sharing photos from the hospital a day later.

“Didn’t make it to the Emmys but made it to the ER,” Vergara wrote on Monday with a carousel post that included a close-up photo of her swollen left eye.

“Sorry I had to cancel! Craziest eye [allergy] right before getting in the car.”

In one video from the post the actress could be seen lying in a hospital bed, while another clip filmed as she rinsed out her eye with water in a hospital sink.

Vergara had been scheduled to present at the prestigious ceremony, alongside a star-studded lineup that included Elizabeth Banks, Angela Bassett, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell, Sterling K. Brown, and Tina Fey among others.

Vergara wasn’t the only one with a health scare that night as Eric Dane, who was named as a presenter, also missed out on the event.

Dane, 52, has been publicly battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and was slated to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Grey’s Anatomy at the ceremony.

In contrast, Sterling K. Brown defied expectations and attended the show despite a torn Achilles tendon.

The Paradise actor also rolled onto the stage with a knee scooter to present the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series to Jeff Hiller from Somebody Somewhere.

Brown even postponed surgery days ahead to attend the Emmys as he was nominated as the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series category for his performance on Hulu’s hit Paradise.