Meghan Markle’s Father on ‘Suits’ Gave Her the Sweetest Advice Before Her 2018 Wedding to Prince Harry

Wendell Pierce played Robert Zane, the dad of Meghan’s character Rachel on the legal drama.

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Meghan Markle and Wendell Pierce
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Ahead of Meghan Markle’s May 2018 wedding to Prince Harry, actor Wendell Pierce—who played Meghan’s onscreen father on Suits—is revealing the advice he gave the soon-to-be Duchess of Sussex, E! News reports. (Queen Elizabeth gave Harry and Meghan the Duke and Duchess of Sussex titles right at the time of their wedding on May 19.)

“I’m always reminded of the last day working with Meghan, which was the wedding scene prior to her engagement to the prince,” Pierce said. “I said, ‘Meghan, your life is going to be a whirlwind. You’re going to be in this bubble.’”

He continued “I just want you to remember that no matter what happens, you always have friends. And I hope you count me in that number.”

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Meghan Markle and Wendell Pierce

Meghan and Pierce played the father-daughter duo of Rachel Zane and Robert Zane, respectively, on "Suits."

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Meghan left the show at the end of season seven; after being on the air since 2011, the show ultimately wrapped in 2019. Meghan and Pierce portrayed Rachel Zane and Robert Zane, respectively, a father-daughter duo on the USA Network show. Pierce said the season seven finale—Meghan’s last episode—was fitting, since Rachel marries Mike Ross (played by Patrick J. Adams) before they move to Seattle to start their own law firm (and Meghan left Suits to start her new life as a working royal). The season seven finale was both Meghan and Adams’ last time on the show.

“I’m so grateful that I was able to express that to her before the whirlwind engagement and a wedding and becoming the duchess,” Pierce said.

Meghan Markle and Wendell Pierce

Meghan left the show at the end of season seven to become a full-time working member of the royal family.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Pierce was invited to the royal wedding in 2018—along with many of his Suits co-stars—but he couldn’t make it work because of scheduling conflicts. That said, though, he and Meghan did reunite after she and Harry stepped back as working members of the royal family and moved to the United States in 2020, running into each other at an event last year where both received an award.

“We were at a public function together and she was receiving an award,” Pierce said. “It was great to see them because there’s this public persona, and then it’s the two that I know.”

Wendell Pierce

Pierce was invited to the royal wedding in 2018, but wasn't able to attend because of scheduling conflicts.

(Image credit: Getty Images)

Suits—in case you missed this somehow—gained an even wider audience when all nine seasons were added to Netflix last summer. It spent most of the summer and fall at the top of the streaming charts, and, per The Hollywood Reporter, at the end of 2023 became the most-streamed show in the history of Nielsen’s rankings.

Rachel Burchfield
Rachel Burchfield
Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor

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.