Meghan Markle did not attend Prince Harry’s induction into the Living Legends of Aviation on Friday after one of their kids became ill, PEOPLE understands.
Meghan, 42, was expected to attend the 21st annual ceremony in Los Angeles with her husband, but ultimately did not. The Duke of Sussex, 39, attended solo as one of four people being inducted into the Living Legends of Aviation, as host John Travolta presented him with the honor.
Meghan and Harry share son Prince Archie, 4, and daughter Princess Lilibet, 2.
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While his family was not present for his latest achievement, Harry still earned the distinction of being someone who has “made significant contributions to aviation/aerospace,” per a previous announcement by the Kiddie Hawk Air Academy.
During his time onstage, Harry referred to the 69-year-old The Shepherd star as “Captain John” and made reference to the famous dance between his mother, Princess Diana, and Travolta at the White House in November 1985.
“Don’t go running away,” he joked. “I was 1 year old when you danced with my mum.”
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The Duke of Sussex then joked that Travolta had told “everybody here” about the dance and that he would continue “dining out on that.”
“But look at us now, it’s great! So if we’re not going to dance together, we’ll fly together,” he told Travolta. “That’s it, thank you.”
Harry wore a classic black tux to the event and, during his acceptance speech, offered “a heartfelt thank you to the Living Legends of Aviation.”
Hello! Magazine reports that Travolta also mentioned the memorable dance between himself and Princess Diana during his time onstage.
Harry, who served as a helicopter pilot during his decade in the British Army, earned his latest honor alongside Navy pilot Fred George, President and CEO of CAE (formerly Canadian Aviation Electronics) Marc Parent, and Steve Hinton, a man who held the world speed record from 1979 to 1989.
Lauren Sánchez,, fiancée of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, received the “Elling Halvorson Vertical Flight Hall of Fame Award” at the event.
