Meghan Markle claimed she knew nothing about the royals – but now estranged BFF Jessica Mulroney recalls how her father-in-law hosted Charles, Diana and the late queen as Prime Minister of Canada

The Duchess of Sussex has long insisted she knew very little about the royal family before meeting Prince Harry, but it has now emerged one of her best friends might have been able to help her with a few tips.

Meghan, 42, and her former BFF Jessica Mulroney, 43, were once inseparable after meeting on the Toronto showbiz scene — in fact, they were so close that Meghan FaceTimed the stylist and host right before Prince Harry asked her to marry him.

Now Jessica, who is married to Ben Mulroney – son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney – has taken the opportunity to remind fans of her family’s other dealings with royalty.

She took to her Instagram Story to share a photo of Brian and his wife Mila, who hosted Prince Charles and Princess Diana during an official visit to Ottawa in the 1990s.

Additionally, Brian and Mila also hosted the late Queen Elizabeth in Vancouver in 1987 for a Commonwealth meeting during her official tour of Canada, while Jessica’s husband Ben also attended dinner with the monarch as a child.

Meghan Markle’s close friendship with Jessica Mulroney and her husband Ben may have brought her closer to the royal family before she met Harry than previously thought, emergent photos reveal

Meghan famously said that royal protocol was a mystery to her and that she was baffled as she had to bow to the late Queen Elizabeth during their first meeting.

Meanwhile, Harry wrote in his explosive memoir Spare that Meghan “absolutely did not Google” the royal family ahead of their first date.

So it looks like Meghan never asked her former BFF Jessica Mulroney to call on her in-laws for the inside track.

The pair have since drifted apart after Jessica became embroiled in a “white privilege” feud on social media, which saw her lose her illustrious gig on Good Morning America (GMA) and get cut by Canadian TV network CTV.

After a fan account shared photos of the former Prime Minister and First Lady with Charles and Diana in the early 1990s, stylist and mother of three Jessica reposted the photos with the caption, “Love this!”

Jessica Mulroney recently shared images from a fan account praising Mila Mulroney for her sense of style, using images of Mila’s meetings with Princess Diana and King Charles

Jessica Mulroney reposted some photos of her mother-in-law Mila, celebrating her sense of style

Brian and Mila even hosted Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth in Vancouver at a Commonwealth meeting in 1987

The photos were taken during the royal couple’s visit to the Canadian capital Ottawa on October 29, 1991, where they visited the Prime Minister’s residence and were welcomed by Brian and Mila.

And their evening with Charles and Diana wasn’t the only royal encounter Brian and Mila had during Brian’s nine years in office.

In 1987, three years after Brian was elected Prime Minister of Canada, he and First Lady Mila welcomed Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth to the country for a visit to the Commonwealth.

The late monarch was pictured with the former Canadian leader and First Lady in Vancouver during a meeting of Commonwealth heads of government.

After Her Majesty’s death in September 2022, a CBC news report said Brian Mulroney knew the late monarch “well” and that the pair had “met many times.”

Speaking to the news channel, he paid tribute to her, saying: ‘I remember one Sunday night when she came to Canada and we planned a little dinner for her…

“She told her private secretary that the children had to be there too.”

The former Prime Minister described how he and his children, including Jessica’s husband Ben, dined with Her Majesty that evening.

This connection isn’t the only time doubt has been cast on Meghan’s claims that she knew nothing about the royal family before meeting Harry.

A resurfaced post from the Duchess’s now-defunct lifestyle blog, The Tig, revealed Meghan sharing her thoughts on the British royal family and “Princess Kate’s” wedding in particular.

The 2014 entry, which Meghan wrote during her time on Suits, revealed that as a child she dreamed of being a “royal rebel” rather than “a Cinderella” – as she reflected on the “pomp and circumstance” and “ endless conversation’ about Kate and William’s royal wedding.

Violet von Westenholz pictured with Meghan Markle at Wimbledon in 2016 – around the time the Duchess of Sussex started dating Prince Harry

Eugenie and Meghan first met at an event in Miami in May 2014. Fashion designer Misha Nonoo photographed with Meghan in 2015

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

The post suggests that not only did she know exactly who the royals were, but she had also formed some very strong opinions about the monarchy and its many traditions years before she met her future husband.

“Little girls dream of being princesses,” Meghan wrote in the post, before emphasizing, “For me it was all about She-Ra, Princess of Power.

“For those of you unfamiliar with the ’80s cartoon reference, She-Ra is the twin sister of He-Man and a sword-wielding royal rebel known for her strength.

“We’re definitely not talking about Cinderella here.”

She continued by noting that many grown women seem to continue their “childhood fantasy” of becoming princesses – before making a rather scathing nod to the public fascination and intrigue surrounding William and Kate’s 2011 wedding.

“Adult women seem to hold on to this childhood fantasy,” she wrote. ‘Just look at the pomp and circumstance surrounding the royal wedding and the endless conversations about Princess Kate.’

And Meghan also appears to have other connections to the British royal family, in the form of various friendships she has had over the years.

Her friend Misha Nonoo, who she met on the set of Suits, was once married to Alexander Gilkes – who attended Eton College when Prince Harry and Prince William were pupils there.

What’s more, Alexander – who is now engaged to tennis champion Maria Sharapova – has such close ties to the royal family that he was even invited to Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding in 2011.

In 2014, the Etonian set up his own auction house, Paddle8, in New York, where Princess Eugenie was employed for two years in 2013.

The mother-of-two was Alexander’s Benefit Auctions Manager and the two became so close that he even nicknamed her ‘Eug’.

During the Princess’s time in New York, Alexander also attended the Gavel & Grand Benefit Auction with Eugenie and her mother Sarah Ferguson.

It is through Alexander’s work that his ex-wife Misha has become good friends with Princess Eugenie.

In the couple’s Netflix docuseries, Meghan explained how she traveled around Europe in 2016 for a “single girl summer.”

In the couple’s Netflix docuseries, Meghan explained how she traveled around Europe in 2016 for a “single girl summer.”