Meghan Markle is making a glamorous appearance at the 2024 Paley Honors Fall Gala to support her friend, Tyler Perry, as he receives the highest honor from The Paley Center for Media.

On Dec. 4, the Duchess of Sussex, 43, appeared at The Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills for the glam gala, wearing a floor-length black dress and strappy black heels. Perry, 55, was celebrated with the prestigious Paley Honors Award, the organization’s highest distinction.

The Paley Honors Tribute to Tyler Perry was announced in July, and it was revealed then that Meghan and Prince Harry would be among the crew leading the celebrations. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were listed as tribute chairs for the big night, alongside Whoopi Goldberg, Gayle King, Taraji P. Henson, George Lucas, Kerry Washington and more.

Although Harry was involved, he did not appear alongside Meghan at the event, as he was in New York City following his appearance at The New York Times’ 2024 DealBook Summit. There, he joined NYT columnist and DealBook founder Andrew Ross Sorkin for a wide-ranging conversation.

During the discussion, Harry addressed the persistent rumors surrounding his relationship with Meghan, which have been fueled by their recent separate public appearances. Reflecting on the speculation, he quipped, “Apparently, we’ve bought or moved house 10, 12 times. We’ve apparently divorced maybe 10, 12 times as well. So it’s just like, ‘What?’ “

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s separate, bicoastal appearances illuminate their new dynamic, which a friend previously likened to PEOPLE as a “twin-track approach.” Harry is focused on philanthropy, while Meghan is embracing entrepreneurial projects and commercial ventures, though the couple shares many projects together.

“An entrepreneurial and enterprise focus is going to be more the Duchess’s priority and the Duke will continue to champion his not-for-profit patronages,” the friend told PEOPLE in October. “But there will be joint efforts around those cause-driven areas of work.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were guests at Perry’s 55th birthday party in September, and have been friends for years. Perry is the godfather of their 3-year-old daughter, Princess Lilibet, and in 2020, offered his Los Angeles home to the couple and their 5-year-old son, Prince Archie, as the couple transitioned out of their royal roles.

As Harry and Meghan put down roots with a “permanent home” in Montecito later that year, a source told PEOPLE that they were truly grateful for Perry’s kindness.

“They’re really grateful to Tyler Perry for his kindness,” the insider said in the summer of 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 said.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex first connected with the filmmaker when he reached out to Meghan ahead of her 2018 royal wedding. He 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, saying Perry told her to call if she ever needed support or advice.

“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 about how she and Perry clicked.

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 as working royals. Though Perry had never met them, he offered his home as a safe place to stay.

When the family eventually settled in Montecito, he gave them a grand piano as a housewarming gift (and said, “Write the soundtrack for your life,” according to The Cut) and appeared in the docuseries Harry & Meghan, which debuted on Netflix in December 2022.

There, he shared the sweet story about how Harry and Meghan asked him to be Lilibet’s godfather after she was born in June 2021 (“I’d be absolutely honored,” Perry recounted that he said), and PEOPLE confirmed the celebrated director attended the little princess’ christening at home in March 2023.

The Paley Honors “recognizes individuals whose groundbreaking achievements in media have consistently set the bar for excellence,” a statement said, and Perry is being fêted for his work as an actor, writer, director, producer, studio head and philanthropist. The Madea creator began his career as a playwright, and has produced over 2,000 episodes of television and helmed 28 feature films to date.