Meghan Markle and Beyoncé—A Timeline of Their Friendship

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Beyoncé has praised Meghan Markle for her "courage and leadership" following the Duchess of Sussex's groundbreaking interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Queen Bey herself publicly lauded Markle on her website, posting a dedicated message to the royal.

"Thank you Meghan for your courage and leadership. We are all strengthened and inspired by you," Beyoncé wrote on her website, under an image that showed the pair greeting each other at the 2019 premiere of The Lion King.

But how do these two women know each other personally?

Aside from the fact that they are both arguably two of the most famous people on the planet, Beyoncé and Meghan only met for the first time in person at the aforementioned premiere in July 2019 in London.

A number of well-publicized photos from the event show the two women embracing each other, as they meet, alongside their husbands, Prince Harry and Jay Z.

Beyonce, Meghan Markle, Jay Z, Prince Harry
Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex (L) and Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (2nd L) meets cast and crew, including US singer-songwriter Beyoncé (C) and her husband, US rapper Jay-Z (R) as they attend the... NIKLAS HALLE'N/AFP via Getty Images

At the time, the couple is reported to have discussed the birth of Harry and Meghan's son Archie and Beyoncé was recorded saying: "My princess," to Meghan.

Entertainment Tonight reported that Jay-Z offered some advice to the new parents, telling them to "always find some time for yourself."

Earlier in the same year, in February, Beyoncé paid tribute to Meghan during her and Jay Z's joint acceptance speech at the 2019 BRIT Awards.

The couple released a video of them standing in front of a regal portrait of Meghan, mimicking their "Apes***" video in which they perform in front of the Mona Lisa.

In an Instagram post of the couple and the portrait, Beyoncé wrote: "Thank you to the Brits for the award for Best International Group. I won this award back in 2002 with my besties, Kelly and Michelle. How lucky am I to have been in a group with my other best friend, the GOAT Hova. In honor of Black History Month, we bow down to one of our Melanated Monas. Congrats on your pregnancy! We wish you so much joy."

Following the broadcast of Meghan and Harry's Oprah interview, Buckingham Palace responded with a statement confirming "the whole family is saddened" by the couple's experience but added that "some recollections may vary."

However, Meghan's friend Janina Gavankar today challenged this statement by saying her and the couple's recollections do not vary.

Gavankar told the British daytime show, This Morning: "I thought I'm so thankful that they [Buckingham Palace] are finally acknowledging the experience. But on the other side I thought I know that the family and the staff were well aware of the extent of it and though their recollections may vary, ours don't because we lived through it with them. And there are many emails and texts to support that."

She added: "I don't know who knew, I know that the family and the staff knew. I think she spoke very well about how she felt."

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