Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Party with Star-Studded Group Celebrating Tyler Perry's Birthday

The birthday bash was reportedly also attended by Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King and Alicia Keys

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry celebrated their friend Tyler Perry on the eve of the Duke of Sussex's milestone 40th birthday.

On Sept. 14, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were seen leaving a birthday bash for Perry, as seen in pictures obtained by the Daily Mail. The filmmaker turned 55 on Sept. 13, the day prior.

The photos showed Prince Harry and Meghan sitting together in the backseat of a car, where Meghan laughed and Harry held up a phone. According to the outlet, the celebration was also attended by Oprah Winfrey, Gayle King, Alicia Keys, actor Aaron O'Connell, Paramount and Nickelodeon CEO Brian Robbins and his fashion designer wife Tracy Robbins. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are friendly with the couple and marked their sixth wedding anniversary in May with a double date dinner.

The Daily Mail reported that an employee from a lighting company apparently hired to help decorate for the party said he observed "a lot of music, dancing and singing" as he left. The outlet reported that the event was held at a Montecito home.

Related: No, Meghan Markle Wasn't Cropped from Prince Harry's Birthday Photo Used by King Charles and Prince William

"Lots of speeches and food too. Everyone was having a lot of fun. It was a good party," the staffer said about what he saw. "There were a lot of famous people, but I cannot say any more."

The celebration was held the day before Prince Harry turned 40 on Sept. 15. PEOPLE understands that Harry planned to mark the occasion with a private celebration in Montecito, surrounded by friends and family.

Prince Harry and Meghan, 43, are known to be close with the multi-hyphenate entertainer, and Perry is the godfather of their daughter, Princess Lilibet, 3.

The couple first connected with Perry when he reached out to Meghan around the time of her royal wedding to Harry in 2018. The Madea creator let the Duchess of Sussex know he was praying for her "and that he understood what this meant, and that he could only imagine what it was like," she told The Cut in 2022. Perry told her that he was always available for support or advice, and she later took him up on that invitation.

Related: Prince Harry Reveals the 'Best Gift' He’s Ever Received Ahead of 40th Birthday (Exclusive)

"Sometimes, you can tell your life story to a stranger on a plane as opposed to some of the people that are closest to you," the Duchess of Sussex said, referencing her rapport with Perry.

In 2020, she filled him in on her family's stay in Vancouver, Canada amid an uncertain future as she and Prince Harry announced their decision to step back from their duties as working royals. Before the actor-director had even met the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, he offered his Los Angeles home as a place for them to stay with their son, Prince Archie, now 5, along with a security detail while transitioning out of their royal roles.

As Harry and Meghan put down roots with a "permanent home" in Montecito later that summer, a source told PEOPLE that they were truly appreciative of Perry's compassion.

"They're really grateful to Tyler Perry for his kindness," the insider said in summer 2020. "They have endless gratitude to him for helping them during a complicated time."

"With COVID and as they were stepping back from their royal duties, he provided them a safe haven," they added.

Perry even welcomed them to their new abode with a grand piano as a housewarming gift, telling them, "Write the soundtrack for your life," according to The Cut. He appeared in the docuseries Harry & Meghan, which debuted on Netflix in December 2022, where he shared the story of how the Sussexes asked him to be Lilibet's godfather.

During an interview with the six-part series, Perry said that Harry and Meghan got "pretty serious" on a phone call. "I go, 'Okay, what's going on?' They said, 'Well, we'd like for you to be Lili's godfather.' I go, 'Whoa.' I had to take a minute to take that in. And I thought, 'I'd be honored. I'd absolutely be honored,' " Perry remembered.

After hopping off the phone, the director realized his agreement came with a bit of a condition.

"I called them back and go, 'Uh, hold on a second — does this mean we gotta go over [to the U.K.] and do all of that in church with [the royal family] and figure all that out? 'Cause I don't wanna do that,' " Perry said in the series. " 'Maybe we can do a little private ceremony here [in the U.S.] and let that be that, and if you have to do it there, then that's okay.' "

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Princess Lilibet was christened in a small ceremony at Prince Harry and Meghan's Montecito home in March 2023. Perry flew in for the christening ceremony from his home in Atlanta with a 10-person gospel choir that sang "Oh Happy Day" and "This Little Light of Mine," a song that played at Meghan and Harry's wedding.

Over the summer, the Paley Center for Media announced that Perry will be honored at the Paley Honors gala in Beverly Hills on Dec. 4 — with Prince Harry and Meghan expected to help helm the celebrations. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are among the tribute chairs alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Gayle King, Taraji P. Henson, George Lucas, Kerry Washington and more. 

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