Kelly Rowland on Meghan Markle: “She Was Royal Before She Was in That Family”

Kerry Washington, Kelly Rowland, and Meghan Markle at the Renaissance World Tour — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Meghan Markle attended two of Beyoncé’s three Los Angeles stops on her Renaissance World Tour in early September—the first time with her husband, Prince Harry, and her mother, Doria Ragland, and the second time (for Beyoncé’s birthday show on September 4) with Kelly Rowland and Kerry Washington. “It was my first time meeting her,” Rowland said, per Hello. “It was just nice being there with other great women and being able to just simply talk. I don’t know what people expect to see or know, but she just felt very cool and very down to earth. She is very warm.”

Though it may have been Rowland’s first time meeting Meghan, Beyoncé’s relationship with the Duchess of Sussex goes back to their first meeting in 2019, at The Lion King premiere that July in London. “My princess,” Beyoncé said as she leaned in to hug Meghan, People reports. Almost immediately after Harry and Meghan appeared in a sit-down with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021, Beyoncé vocalized her support for Meghan, posting a tribute on her website that read “Thank you Meghan for your courage and leadership,” alongside a photo of the two of them from The Lion King premiere. “We are all strengthened and inspired by you.”

Beyonce and Meghan Markle at The Lion King premiere in London

In the couple’s Netflix docuseries Harry Meghan, which premiered last December, Meghan said she was touched when Beyoncé reached out to her after their Oprah interview. In a scene from the docuseries, Harry and Meghan are working side-by-side in their home office in Montecito, California, when Meghan tells her husband “Beyoncé just texted,” while Harry theatrically gasps.

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“Just checking in,” Meghan smiled as she read Beyoncé’s message, adding, “I still can’t believe she knows who I am!” “Go and call her,” Harry suggested. “No, it’s okay,” Meghan responded. “She said she wants me to feel safe and protected. She admires and respects my bravery and vulnerability and thinks I was selected to break generational curses that need to be healed.” “That’s well said,” Harry responded.

In an October 2022 Variety cover interview, Meghan also revealed that her favorite song from Beyoncé’s Renaissance album was “Cozy.”

And, just as Beyoncé is a fan of Meghan’s, Bey’s lifelong best friend, bandmate, and, essentially, second sister Rowland seems to echo her feelings: “She was royal before she was in that family,” Rowland said of Meghan. “I think that we are royalty before anything. And we have to hold ourselves in that regard as humans, as people.”

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.