Prince Harry and Meghan Markle considering coveted Oscars appearance

NZ Herald
We could be seeing Harry and Meghan take to the Oscars stage next weekend. Photo / Getty Images
We could be seeing Harry and Meghan take to the Oscars stage next weekend. Photo / Getty Images

There's a star-studded lineup set to take the stage at the Academy Awards ceremony this weekend - and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle could be among them.

The ex-royal couple have been asked to present an award on the night, reports The Sun.

They were approached last year and offered their pick of gongs to present - and it's understood they are now lined up to reveal the winner of Best Picture, the most coveted category on the night.

If so, the ceremony could see the Sussexes handing out an award to Aotearoa's own Jane Campion, who is up for the honour for her film The Power of the Dog.

But if Harry does attend, it's sure to come with outcry from royal fans since he pulled out of his grandfather Prince Philip's memorial service in London.

Organisers initially considered the pair for presenting the coveted Best Actress award.

But this was quickly canned because actress Kristen Stewart is up for the award for her role as Princess Diana in horror biopic Spencer.

A source told the publication, "Harry and Meghan were first approached two years ago for the ceremony but politely declined.

"Obviously they'd be a huge coup this year, and could use their appearance to make an impassioned speech of their choosing, most likely [about] Ukraine.

"Show producers Will Packer and Shayla Cowan have lined up some amazing A-list names to take to the stage and Harry and Meghan would be the icing on the cake.

"It's still up in the air, but in all likelihood – especially in the wake of recent publicity – Harry won't attend.

"It would be seen as a final kick in the teeth for the royal family if he did – he's too nervous to fly to London without police protection, but happy to stand up in front of a huge live audience at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. Not great optics."

The 94th Academy Awards will take place next Sunday local time in Los Angeles, hosted by Amy Schumer, Wanda Sykes and Regina Hall.

Meanwhile, Meghan Markle is launching her own podcast series on Spotify after she and Harry raised concerns about "misinformation" on the platform.

The pair signed a $34 million deal with the streaming service, but have only recorded one show so far.