Princess Eugenie Is Reportedly the Only Royal Meghan Markle Is Still Close to After Royal Exit

A royal source says Princess Eugenie is the only member of the royal family Meghan Markle is still close to since her and Prince Harry's royal exit.

  • Since their royal exit last spring, rumors have swirled about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's reportedly strained relationship with the rest of the royal family.
  • According to a new report from Us Weekly, Meghan does still have a really great relationship with one of her royal in-laws: Harry's cousin, Princess Eugenie, who has "stayed friends" with Meghan throughout the royal exit, according to a royal source.
  • "Eugenie is really the only member of the royal family that Meghan is still close to," the royal insider explained to the publication, saying that Eugenie and Meghan have bonded over their pregnancies and have stayed in touch since the Sussexes' move.

Meghan Markle still has at least one friend in the royal family: Prince Harry's cousin, Princess Eugenie.

A royal source (you know, the unnamed, not-totally-on-the-record kind) recently told Us Weekly that Meghan and Eugenie "stayed friends and remain friends" after the Sussexes' move to California last spring, even amidst Harry and Meghan's ongoing reported ~drama~ with the rest of the royal family. 

"Eugenie is really the only member of the royal family that Meghan is still close to," the royal insider told the publication.

So how have Meghan and Eugenie stayed close? The source credits motherhood with keeping the pair's bond in-tact long-distance.

"They are sort of an unlikely pair, but remain in contact," the insider said. "They bond over their pregnancies."

Eugenie and Meghan have hit several milestones close to each other. Harry and Meghan's royal wedding was held in May 2018 at St. George's Chapel in Windsor, while Eugenie tied the knot with her husband, Jack Brooksbank just five months later, in October 2018, at the exact same venue.

Meghan and Harry announced they were expecting their first child in October 2018 and welcomed their son, Archie Harrison, in May 2019. Eugenie and Jack waited a little longer to grow their family, announcing that they were expecting their first child in September 2020. Eugenie gave birth on February 9, 2021 and just a few days later, on February 14, Harry and Meghan announced they were expecting their second child.

Need more connections? Because Meghan and Eugenie have more. Eugenie gave birth to her son, August, at The Portland Hospital, the same place Meghan chose to deliver Archie. And, in perhaps the biggest and clearest sign of how close the two royal couples are, Harry and Meghan have been lending Eugenie and Jack their U.K. home, Frogmore Cottage, while they adjust to life as a family of three.

Plus, it's not surprising at all that Meghan and Eugenie have remained so close when you consider Eugenie's relationship with Harry, which is, by all accounts, just A+.

"Out of all the Queen’s grand-children, Harry and Eugenie have one of the most natural connections," royal authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand wrote in their Sussex biography, Finding Freedom. "Like Harry, Eugenie is loyal, honest and great fun. The two had many nights out together in London."

TBH though, it's just always nice to hear about people (and especially people who are related and connected to each other's lives forever) getting along and being great friends, so this anonymous royal source report is one we're choosing to believe and embrace.

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Kayleigh Roberts
Weekend Editor

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with more than 10 years of professional experience. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.