Inside Meghan Markle’s friendship with Princess Eugenie

Meghan Markle has long claimed she knew very little about the British Royal Family prior to meeting Prince Harry.

However, the Duchess of Sussex, 41, revealed in her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021 that she already knew the Duke of Sussex’s cousin, Princess Eugenie, before she started dating Harry.

She explained how her friendship with Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson’s daughter, 32, dates back to before her relationship with her husband.

Mother-of-two Meghan said: ‘Eugenie and I had known each other before I had known Harry, so that was comfortable. We’re friends with them as a couple,’ she added, referring to Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank.

The Duchess’ suggestions that she knew very little about the Royal Family before meeting Harry have been brought back into the spotlight after a blog post from her now-defunct website The Tig resurfaced and called into question her claims.

Two years before she met the Duke, Meghan candidly revealed her true feelings towards royal princesses – and her thoughts on Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding.

The 2014 entry revealed that the former Suits actor dreamt of being a ‘royal rebel’ rather than ‘a Cinderella’ and reflected on the ‘pomp and circumstance’ and ‘endless conversations’ about Kate’s wedding. 

Now, Meghan’s admission that she knew Eugenie before dating Harry seemingly further debunks her suggestions that she was clueless when it came to the Royal Family prior to her relationship.

Here, FEMAIL takes a look inside Meghan and Eugenie’s friendship… 

TRIPS TO TORONTO

Meghan, Harry and Eugenie enjoying a night out together in Toronto for Halloween in 2016

In the early days of Meghan and Harry’s relationship, Eugenie and her now-husband Jack went on double dates with the couple. 

They also visited Toronto, Canada, to see the pair after the Prince had travelled to be with Meghan during her time filming legal drama Suits.  

Speaking to her friend Ellen DeGeneres in a surprise talk show interview in November 2021, Meghan said she and Harry wanted to have ‘one fun night on the town before it was out in the world that we were a couple’.

She explained how she and the Prince enjoyed a party with Eugenie and Jack days before the news of their relationship broke.

Speaking about the event in 2016, she told Ellen: ‘He came to see me in Toronto and our friends and his cousin Eugenie and now her husband Jack, they came as well, and the four of us snuck out in Halloween costumes to just have one fun night on the town before it was out in the world that we were a couple. 

‘It was a post-apocalypse theme, so we had all this very bizarre costuming on, and we were able to just have one fun final night out.’

The couple, who are now based in Montecito, California, also recalled the night out in the first episode of their explosive Netflix docuseries Harry and Meghan.

They recalled how they went incognito with ‘borrowed’ costumes with Eugenie, Jack, and Meghan’s close friend Markus Anderson.

It is not known where the couple went out in Toronto, however they shared unseen snaps of the party in a home, as well as out in a local club. 

In one snap, Meghan and Harry can be seen crowding in for a photograph with Eugenie and Jack, as well as another friend, Markus. 

Harry was dressed in a gas mask, while Meghan also pulled her hat low over her face. Meanwhile the Duchess opted for a crop top for the occasion, which she paired with dark jean shorts.

Both she and Eugenie ringed their eyes in dark eyeliner for the outing, while Harry pulled a skeleton mask across his face. The couple said they ‘wanted to pull the pin on the fun grenade.’

Meghan said: ‘His cousin Eugenie, her boyfriend Jack and my friend Markus were there too. It was so great, just silly fun.’

GLAMOROUS MUTUAL BFF 

Eugenie and Meghan are said to have first knew of each other through their mutual friend, fashion designer Misha Nonoo (pictured in 2015 with Meghan)

The Sussexes, Eugenie and Jack were all guests at Misha’s lavish Rome wedding in the summer of 2019. Pictured, Misha and Eugenie in 2019

Eugenie and Meghan are said to have first knew of each other through their mutual friend, fashion designer Misha Nonoo.

The Sussexes, Eugenie and Jack were all guests at Misha’s lavish Rome wedding in the summer of 2019.

Meghan arrived in a £8,900 ($13,500) Valentino dress alongside Harry for the wedding of the fashion designer and her oil tycoon fiancé, joining other star-studded guests including Ivanka Trump, Jared Kushner and James Corden. 

Misha was chauffeured in alongside Eugenie on a golf buggy ahead of the fashionista’s wedding to businessman Michael ‘Mikey’ Hess.

A chorus of cheers erupted as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex arrived, Prince Harry wearing black tie and Meghan pairing gold earrings with the black puff-sleeve embroidered tulle gown. The expensive dress, which has sequin embellishments and wraparound fastening, is made in Italy. 

The bride wore a minimalist white dress on arrival, while Eugenie wore a black evening gown, as other guests in black tie surrounded their vehicle ahead of the wedding on the Friday evening.

Eugenie and Jack and Meghan and Harry also have mutual friends in singer Ellie Goulding and George and Amal Clooney, who were guests at Harry and Meghan’s nuptials. Jack has worked as a brand ambassador for Casamigos, the tequila firm co-founded by George.

VISITS TO CALIFORNIA 

In the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix documentary, released in December, it was revealed Princess Eugenie has spent time with her cousin Harry and his son Archie while in Los Angeles

In the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix documentary, released in December, it was revealed Princess Eugenie has spent time with her cousin Harry and his son Archie while in Los Angeles.

The 32-year-old royal appeared in the final episode of the six-part docuseries, Harry & Meghan – part of the Sussexes’ multi-million-dollar deal with Netflix.

She was pictured attending the Super Bowl in California in February as well as playing at an undisclosed beach with little Archie and enjoying a bike ride alongside her cousin.

In the first three episodes, Eugenie was the only member of the Royal Family to feature in personal photos shared in the Sussexes’ Netflix documentary.

One sweet snap of Queen Elizabeth II’s granddaughter in the second episode showed Harry and Eugenie out for a bike ride along a palm tree-lined stretch of pavement in California.

Last year, Eugenie became the first member of the Royal Family to publicly visit the Duke of Sussex in California, two years after he quit senior duties. 

A source told MailOnline at the time: ‘Harry and Eugenie have always been close ever since they were children. He always makes her laugh. They share a sense of humour. 

‘She is friends with Meghan too, and was close to his two previous girlfriends Chelsy Davy and Cressida Bonas. It was Eugenie who helped set up Harry and Cressida. She refuses to abandon him. She is a very loyal lady. She is not one for taking sides.’

GUSHING INSTAGRAM POST

Marking Meghan’s birthday, Eugenie wrote: ‘To celebrate dear Meghan’s 40th birthday I’m contributing 40 minutes of mentorship to support women reentering the workforce’

Personal message: Princess Eugenie shared a sweet message of congratulations to her ‘dear cousins’ Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on the birth of their daughter Lilibet Diana

In 2021, Princess Eugenie shared a 40th birthday tribute to her ‘dear Meghan’ in a gushing Instagram post.

On the day, the Duchess of Sussex shared a video featuring Bridesmaids actress Melissa McCarthy on the website of her charitable foundation Archewell to introduce her new initiative which encouraged people to donate 40 minutes of their time to help someone else or to mentor someone in need.  

Taking part in the charitable endeavour, Eugenie wrote: ‘To celebrate dear Meghan’s 40th birthday I’m contributing 40 minutes of mentorship to support women reentering the workforce.

‘In the past two years, tens of millions of women around the world have departed the workforce. If you can, please join me and commit 40 minutes to community, service or mentorship.’ 

Eugenie’s Instagram Story was one of the suggested Instagram posts provided on the Archewell website for people to share, which featured the phrase: ‘For women who give everything, we give our time. Are you in?’ 

The princess did however edit the suggested caption, which read: ‘To celebrate The Duchess of Sussex’s 40th birthday, I am devoting 40 minutes of mentorship or service to a cause I care about. Please join me in donating your time. Together, we can contribute to a global wave of compassion and positive change. #40×40 #CompassionInAction,’ giving it a more personal touch for her cousin-in-law. 

It wasn’t the first time Eugenie had referred to the Duchess using such a sweet term of endearment; in June  2021 she shared a sweet message of congratulations to her ‘dear cousins’ on the birth of their daughter Lilibet.