MEGHAN Markle has suffered an awkward microphone blunder after taking to the stage at a star-studded charity event.

The Duchess of Sussex, 42, was joined by husband Prince Harry at Kevin Costner's £21 million oceanside estate in Santa Barbara.

At one point, the couple presented Costner with an award for his charity, One805, which supports first responders in the area.

A clip from the event shows Meghan reaching out to take the host's microphone, appearing to look as if she's about to say a few words.

The awkward moment was made more so when the female speaker refused to hand over the mic, despite Meghan already having a grip.

Instead, the former royal placed her hand on the woman's arm before moving past to walk towards the opposite side of the stage.

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Commentators weren't kind when analysing the situation, with one writing on Twitter that they had "second hand embarrassment".

“It’s the fact she assumed, despite presumably knowing there was no plan for her to speak,” another added.

Oprah Winfrey was among the bash's guests, two years after she conducted the couple's first interview since leaving the royal family.

The TV mogul later introduced local first responder Sam Dudley, and his service dog, who had benefited from One805 therapy.

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Costner also took to the stage and revealed one of the reasons he enjoys opening his property for public events.

 "Good Afternoon everyone, I get asked a lot by my friends who have no manners …" he began.

"'Kev, what's this place cost, what's it worth?' I can just simply tell you on a day like today, it's worth every penny.

"We can celebrate people that you'd maybe never meet, the ones who are the first to rush in.

"It's a place where I've had a lot of good luck in my life and I try to not put a wall around it."

Following the speeches, the Duke and Duchess partook in a royal-style walkabout and chatted with attendees.

The couple had a similar reception at the Invictus Games in Düsseldorf, Germany last week.

There, Meghan addressed injured service personnel and their families in a speech which explained the couple's children had remained in California.

"It is so special to be here, and I'm so sorry that I was a little late for the party," she said.

"I had to just spend a little bit more time getting our little ones settled home.

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"Getting milk shakes, doing school drop off and then I just landed a couple of hours ago."

Meghan and Harry have been locals in the Santa Barbara area since buying their palatial £11million, 16-bedroom mansion in nearby Montecito in 2020.

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