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Sir Elton John’s friend Janet Street Porter has given an update on her friend after he admitted recently that he was struggling with his vision

Sir Elton John was attending a production of The Devil Wears Prada on London’s West End, alongside his husband David Furnish, when, during a speech following the production, he admitted to the audience: “I’ve lost my eyesight and cannot see the stage.”

The eye infection caused him to lose the eyesight in his right eye, and he also admitted his left eye is not good either, confessing he felt “stuck” at the moment. Now Janet Street-Porter has opened up on Loose Women about Elton’s health.

Speaking on the show, Janet said: “It’s very tough. He’s been on the phone about it, he’s called me. I think it really affected him because he suffers from glaucoma and he had one eye that was OK and another eye which is a weak eye.

Sir Elton John with friends at The Devil Wears Prada musical ( 
Image:
Dave Benett/Getty Images for The)
“I think the virus got him in the good eye so I think its left him with very very poor vision. It’s impossible for him to read, and it’s very very difficult. It’s made him feel very isolated and he’s a very proud person.”

Admitting Elton wouldn’t have wanted to share the diagnosis, she added: “He would not have wanted to share that because he wouldn’t want people to pity him. He doesn’t want our sympathy, it’s a battle he’s got to fight himself. Nothing we can do for him but send him our love and support. When he started telling me about it, I could see how distressed he was and it really got to me.

“The reason partly is because I’ve got glaucoma in my right eye and very very poor sight in my right eye. I could see what had happened to him and the way he sought all these different remedies and nothing has worked so far, but he’s still optimistic.”

Elton spoke on stage over the weekend ( 
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tiktok.com/@aeronjamesuk)

The musician explained how he felt ‘stuck’ ( 
Image:
Dave Benett/Getty Images for The)
Over the weekend, Elton explained about his eye condition and how it had affected his life and work.

He told theatregoers: “I’ve lost my eyesight and cannot see the stage. As some of you may know I have had issues and now I have lost my sight. I haven’t been able to see the performance but I have enjoyed it. To my husband who’s been my rock because I haven’t been able to come to many of the previews… it’s hard for me to see it but I love to hear it and it sounded good tonight OK.

“It’s been a while since I’ve done anything, and well, I just have to get off my backside. I unfortunately lost my eyesight in my right eye in July because I had an infection in the south of France and it’s been four months now since I haven’t been able to see, and my left eye is not the greatest. So there’s hope and encouragement that it will be OK, but it’s… I’m kind of stuck at the moment, because I can do something like this (an interview), but going into the studio and recording, I don’t know, because I can’t see a lyric for a start.”

The designer, who dressed the late Princess of Wales for her one and only Met appearance, spoke about her Dior look in the new series ‘In Vogue: The 90s’

Princess Diana at the Met Gala in New York City in December 1996. Photo: Anwar Hussein/Getty

Princess Diana had a specific vision for her Met Gala dress in 1996.

In the new Hulu docuseries In Vogue: The 90s, fashion designer John Galliano spoke about the parameters that the late Princess of Wales had when it came time to design her dress for what would become her one and only Met appearance. Galliano was then creative director at Dior and spoke about the magic of being tapped to create a bespoke look for the princess.

“I remember one day we all jumped into this old van, and we went to London, where we met Princess Diana. She’d been invited to the Met, and she would wear one of my dresses,” Galliano said in the first volume of the documentary, which premiered on Sept. 13.

Former British Vogue editor Edward Enninful described the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s annual benefit as the “most influential red carpet in the world,” raising the stakes for Princess Diana’s fashion statement at the party. Diana made her debut at the Met Gala in New York City in December 1996 with her friend and former Harper’s Bazaar editor Liz Tilberis, and Princess Diana attended just a few months after her divorce was finalized from the future King Charles.

Princess Diana at the Met Gala in New York City in December 1996. Patrick McMullan via Getty Images
The Most Controversial Met Gala Looks of All Time, from Kim Kardashian and Rihanna to Princess Diana

“It was like a blessing. I mean like, wow,” Galliano said in the series. “We went to Kensington Palace and discussed drawings. I was trying to push for pink, but she was not having it. ‘No, not the pink!’ That was real, real fun.”

“So we did the dress and subsequent fittings, and it was beautifully done,” he said of the “correct” construction. “Fast-forward to the event, and I just remember her getting out of the car,” Galliano said — and gasped. “I couldn’t believe it. She’d ripped the corset out.”

“She didn’t want to wear the corset,” he said about the fashion-forward move, in true Diana style. “She felt so liberated. She’d torn the corset out. The dress was much more… sensuous,” he emphasized, recalling her electric ascent up the Met steps.

(From left) John Galliano, Liz Tilberis, Princess Diana, Helene Arnault and Bernard Arnault at the Met Gala in New York City in December 1996.Stephane Cardinale/Sygma via Getty

Princess Diana’s Most Glamorous Looks of All Time

“I mean, wow! Diana was my first couture client,” Galliano said.

The British designer was one of couture’s most influential visionaries through the 1990s and early 2000s, before he upended his career in 2011 following a string of antisemitic and racist incidents. He was fired from Dior as creative director, stepped back from fashion and returned to design for Maison Margiela, holding the post since 2014.

Much has been made of Princess Diana’s fashion splash at the Met Gala in 1996, where she wore a boudoir-like navy silk slip dress with black lace trim from Galliano’s debut couture collection as the creative director of Dior. She completed the look with a matching silk robe-like topper (which she later removed), a statement pearl-and-sapphire choker necklace and the mini navy quilted Dior bag that the label renamed the Lady Dior in her honor.

The late Princess of Wales was known as Lady Diana Spencer before she married the future King in 1981, and the handheld bag became one of her go-to purses.

Princess Diana at the Met Gala in New York City in December 1996.Richard Corkery/NY Daily News via Getty Images

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During the 1990s, Diana began to experiment more with her style, sporting shorter hemlines and sexier silhouettes. The 1996 Met Gala would ultimately prove to be her only appearance at the event, as she died following a car crash in Paris in August 1997. The late Princess of Wales is remembered as a style icon, and her daughters-in-law Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle continue to take style cues from her today.

“I think all of us were so captivated and fascinated by Princess Diana,” Vogue editor Anna Wintour said in the new docuseries. “At that time, she was the most famous woman in the world. She was enjoying fashion and the spotlight that she put on particularly British designers.”

In Vogue: The ’90s Volume I debuted on Hulu on Sept. 13, and Volume II premieres on Sept. 20.

Diana’s former hairdresser Richard Dalton tells PEOPLE about the royal’s improvised headband

Janine Henni is a Royals Staff Writer for PEOPLE Digital, covering modern monarchies and the world’s most famous families. Like Queen Elizabeth, she loves horses and a great tiara moment.

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Princess Diana in Melbourne, Australia, on Oct. 31, 1985. Photo: Anwar Hussein/WireImage

Princess Diana remains renowned for her iconic sense of style — which sometimes meant getting inventive on the fly.

The late Princess of Wales made a fashion splash when she wore an emerald-and-diamond choker necklace as a headband in Australia with the future King Charles in 1985, and her former hairdresser Richard Dalton is sharing why — along with the fashion hack that made it happen!

“I think she had sunburn on her neck so we said, ‘Let’s make a headband of it,’ ” Dalton recalled at the Styling Princess Diana panel at Fotografiska New York on May 21, celebrating PEOPLE’s 50th anniversary.

“I asked Evelyn, her dresser, for six inches of knicker elastic, [the kind used by] grannies,” he added with a laugh about how he transformed the dazzling accessory into a headpiece. In 2022, Kate Middleton brought the choker out of the royal vault and wore it for the Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony in Boston.

Princess Diana’s Most Glamorous Looks of All Time

Dalton first met Princess Diana, then Lady Diana Spencer, when she was 17. He went on to style her hair for more than a decade, including royal tours around the world.

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“My favorite [hairstyle] would be Thailand,” he said at Fotografiska, recalling the floral look from 1988. “[She wore a] purple and shocking pink dress and I said, ‘Why don’t we do orchids?’ I went into the hotel, stealing flowers for the princess. This was my favorite. She loved it.”

Princess Diana at a dinner in Bangkok, Thailand, on Feb. 4, 1988.Anwar Hussein/Getty Images

Dalton is set to publish a new book titled It’s All About the Hair — My Decade with Diana, with The Princess Diana Museum founder Renae Plant, and cited the surprising impact of Diana’s tresses.

“We decided whatever charity she was representing, the hair would sometimes take away from what she was doing,” Dalton recalled. “[In] Saudi Arabia, she wanted it short. We would cut it every day about a quarter of an inch,” he said. “[After] eight weeks, nobody noticed!”

Princess Diana in Saudi Arabia during an official visit in November 1986.Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty

Every Time Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton Have Worn Princess Diana’s Jewelry

The choker that Princess Diana memorably wore on her head to the gala dinner in Melbourne was paired with a cerulean one-shoulder gown by her wedding dress designer Elizabeth Emanuel, who also spoke at the Styling Princess Diana panel.

During the conversation, moderated by PEOPLE’s Senior Royals Editor Erin Hill, Emanuel said the assignment of a lifetime was Diana’s 1981 wedding day.

“The aim was to make a fairytale princess dress,” said Emanuel, who famously created the voluminous ivory ball gown with 25-foot train with her former husband David — along with a secret backup dress the bride never knew about.

“We were students, we loved drama, we had free rein, nobody told us what to do, and I think that was the fun of it. That was why the dress was so special,” Emanuel explained. “There was an innocence about her and us.”

Elizabeth Emanuel (left) and Princess Diana (right) coordinating outfits for a royal tour in 1986.Tim Graham/Getty Images

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Diana worked with the Emanuels both before and after her wedding day, from a “grown up” black ballgown in 1980 to looks like the cerulean dress in Australia and more.

“No feedback from the palace, nothing, no protocol,” Elizabeth said of the creative freedom they had in dressing the princess. “I don’t think they expected such a reaction, I think they underestimated the effect of Diana.”

Victoria Beckham was left in “disbelief” and “fury” after her husband David Beckham made a candid admission about their marriage in 2018, according to a new book

(Image: Getty Images)

Victoria Beckham was reportedly left seething after her husband David made a surprising revelation about their marriage in a new explosive book. The ex-footballer admitted that their marriage was “hard work” during an interview with Australian TV show The Sunday Project back in 2018.

In his new book, The House of Beckham, author Tom Bower alleges that Posh Spice’s publicist leaked a story to a journalist about how she was left fuming following Becks’ interview. Bower wrote that the Spice Girls star hadn’t been warned about the chat and was instead in “disbelief” as she watched the interview on her mobile.

He added: “It was like a nuclear bomb had gone off.” Bower also claimed that Victoria accused her husband of becoming “the enemy of her ambition”. Following David’s shocking interview, she reportedly checked into a Baden-Baden spa hotel for two days to regain her “emotional balance”.

Read moreInside Kerry Katona’s new ‘downsized’ home as she ‘gets mortgage after 15 years’

In the tell-all, Bower also claims David admitted he has “grown to ignore some of the negative stuff” that is said about him and Victoria, reports the Daily Record.

He remarked: “But to be married for the amount of time that we have, it’s always hard work, everybody knows that but you make it work. You make difficult situations like travelling away, being away from each other, you make it work.”

In their Netflix documentary series, Beckham, the couple openly discussed the trials they faced in their marriage. Victoria emotionally confessed that they “were against each other” during the most challenging times, while David admitted: “I don’t know how we got through it.”

Birmingham City are going head-to-head against Wrexham in what has been billed as one of the biggest League One matches ever

David Beckham and Gary Neville

David Beckham is at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park for Birmingham City’s gigantic clash against Wrexham. Blues are looking to continue their unbeaten start to the League One campaign after a two-week break.

Chris Davies’ side drew their first game of the season against Reading, but have since won their last three matches to leave them in the division’s top-six. Due to a number of players on international duty, Birmingham’s fixture against Exeter – which was meant to take place last weekend – was postponed.

It means that Blues haven’t played a league game for 16 days, while opponents Wrexham played just nine days ago as they beat Shrewsbury 3-0. With Wrexham playing a game more, just three points split the teams going into the game and there was heightened excitement because of that and the fact both have American owners. Blues part-owner Tom Brady and Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney are at the match.

And another of the high-profile names in attendance is Beckham, who has been invited by ownership group Knighthead for the fixture. Beckham and Brady are both in business together. Romeo Beckham, son of David, is also present – as is former Manchester United defender and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville.

Neville has a huge affiliation with the EFL, as he is a co-owner of League Two side Salford City. Phil Neville, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes are also involved in the Ammies. Neville’s Salford were beaten 2-1 by Wrexham in the Bristol Street Motors Trophy last Tuesday.

As for the game itself, Wrexham took the lead inside the opening couple of minutes through Jack Marriott. The former Derby and Peterborough striker slotted home via a deflection after a corner was half-cleared.

It didn’t take Birmingham long to equalise, however, as Jay Stansfield marked his second league debut with a goal. The 21-year-old pounced on an error from the Wrexham goalkeeper to fire home the leveller.

Meghan Markle’s strained relationship with her father has drawn significant media attention in recent years. The father-daughter pair have remained out of contact, with the Duchess of Sussex reportedly restricting her father’s access to his grandchildren due to their rift.

Meghan Markle, now a part of the British royal family through her marriage to Prince Harry, shares two children with him. While she maintains a close bond with her mother, Doria Ragland, her relationship with her father, Thomas Markle, took a different turn, resulting in a well-publicized estrangement.

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Meghan Markle on September 17, 2005 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images
Meghan Markle on September 17, 2005 in Los Angeles, California. | Source: Getty Images

Meghan and her father used to have a warm relationship. In a 2021 interview, Thomas shared an emotional memory of his daughter’s birth in 1981, noting that he was the first to hold her. “I fell in love with her and I’d been that way for 40 years,” said the Pennsylvania native who has two older children from his first marriage.

Meghan also reflected on her childhood in an essay for Elle magazine and revealed her parents met in the late ’70s. Her father worked as a lighting director for a soap opera, while her mother was a temp at the studio.

Meghan Markle on the set of “Deal or No Deal,” 2006 | Source: Getty Images
Meghan Markle on the set of “Deal or No Deal,” 2006 | Source: Getty Images

After marrying in 1979, the couple moved to an affordable, tree-lined neighborhood in L.A.’s San Fernando Valley. Despite the close-knit bond she shared with both parents in her early years, Meghan’s family life shifted when her parents divorced in 1987.

Meghan Markle attends the DPA pre-Emmy Gift Lounge on September 18, 2009, in Beverly Hills, California. | Source: Getty Images

As she grew up, the public figure pursued a career in acting, eventually crossing paths with Prince Harry in 2016. Yet, in the midst of her rising success and high-profile relationship, her father made a mistake by entertaining the media, which later contributed to the strain in their relationship.

Amid Meghan and Prince Harry’s engagement in 2017, Thomas faced health issues, including a heart attack just days before the wedding in May 2018. He shared that stress, partly due to his eldest daughter’s public remarks against Meghan, worsened his condition.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on November 27, 2017, in London, England. | Source: Getty Images

After a brief stay at a hospital in Mexico, Thomas expressed concerns about his health, fearing he might suffer another heart attack. During that same period, news broke that he wouldn’t attend the wedding and his ill-health was partly the reason why.

Just ahead of the ceremony, Meghan announced in a statement from Kensington Palace, “Sadly, my father will not be attending our wedding.” As a result, Thomas missed the opportunity to walk his daughter down the aisle though he felt her mother was a good choice to do the honors.

Meghan Markle on her wedding day on May 19, 2018, in Windsor Castle. | Source: Getty Images

In his absence, then Prince Charles ultimately walked Meghan down the aisle. Reflecting on this, Thomas expressed his appreciation saying, “I certainly couldn’t have asked for a better replacement. Although, I would love to have done that.”

King Charles III walking Meghan Markle down the aisle in St. George’s Chapel on May 19, 2018 in Windsor, England. | Source: Getty Images

In addition to his health woes, the father of three missed the wedding following backlash over staged photos he sold to a photo agency. He explained that he hadn’t intended to harm Meghan or the Royal Family, but was frustrated with paparazzi who had repeatedly caught him in unflattering situations, often misrepresenting him.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle leaving St George’s Chapel on May 19, 2018, in Windsor, England. | Source: Getty Images

Thomas divulged that he had declined high-paying interview offers since Meghan started dating the prince. He accepted a smaller fee from a photo agency, hoping the images would improve his public image. However, he later admitted the photos looked “stupid and hammy” and expressed regret over his decision.

Thomas’s secret collaboration with a British paparazzo for staged photos caused embarrassment for the Royal Family ahead of the wedding, especially after Prince Harry’s earlier pleas for media restraint.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during their carriage procession on the Long Walk on May 19, 2018, in Windsor, England. | Source: Getty Images

The situation was particularly upsetting for the Duke of Sussex, who had previously spoken out against paparazzi behavior, recalling how similar pursuits had led to his mother, Princess Diana’s tragic death in 1997.

As such, during Thomas’s recovery in the hospital, the royal reached out, remarking, “If you’d listened to me, none of this would have happened.”

Prince Harry during his official visit to Denmark on October 26, 2017 | Source: Getty Images

Thomas reportedly ended the call abruptly—a decision he later came to regret, acknowledging that this moment marked the beginning of their rift.

Following the initial fallout, he confided to friends in July 2018 that he hadn’t spoken to Meghan or Prince Harry in a long time. He feared he might never see his daughter again.

Thomas Markle during an interview. | Source: YouTube/GoodMorningBritain

Heartbroken over their growing estrangement, he expressed a sense of finality, saying, “I think they’re shot of me now,” as he struggled to understand why he’d been excluded from Meghan’s life. Thomas later claimed he had been set up to disrupt the wedding, presenting himself as a victim in the situation.

Adding to the strain, Meghan had written him a personal letter, which was subsequently leaked by a media outlet. This breach of privacy led Meghan to pursue legal action against the outlet for sharing the contents of her private message.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during a visit to Millennium Point on March 8, 2018, in Birmingham, England. | Source: Getty Images

Due to their ongoing rift, Meghan’s father has never met her two kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, whom she welcomed in 2019 and 2021, respectively.

Thomas has since voiced his wish to see his grandchildren. He revealed in a 2023 interview that he first learned of Lilibet’s birth through media reports.

Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, and Archie Mountbatten-Windsor during their royal tour of South Africa on September 25, 2019, in Cape Town, South Africa. | Source: Getty Images

The distance between Meghan and her father only deepened after he suffered a stroke in May 2022, temporarily losing his ability to speak. Thomas shared that neither Meghan nor Prince Harry had reached out to check on him.

Reflecting on this, he admitted, “I’m heartbroken. I’m very upset,” describing it as painful and “cruel” for them to keep him from seeing his grandchildren. The animosity between the father and daughter remains, with Thomas reportedly no longer considering Meghan his daughter.

In a candid interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan discussed her strained relationship with Thomas. She recounted how the media’s intense pursuit led tabloids to track down her father, even setting up near his home.

The royal revealed her efforts to protect him from the press, yet Thomas ultimately went behind her back to speak with them. Feeling betrayed, she explained that he basically lied about his involvement, which contributed to their estrangement.

Despite the ongoing conflict, Thomas still believes he was a good father and does not deserve this treatment from Meghan Markle. His final hope is for his daughter to reach out, bridging the distance that has kept their family apart.

A new bombshell report claims Kate Middleton, the Princess of Wales, is considering stepping down from her royal duties entirely.

As per a Palace insider who spoke to the National Enquirer, Kate still hasn’t made the decision but she keeps pushing back the date when she’ll return to public life because the pressure she faces from her royal life has taken a toll on her.

“Kate’s desperate struggle with the constant pressures of life in the royal fishbowl has clearly taken a terrible toll on her physical and mental health,” the senior palace source was reported to have said.

“She spent weeks staying out of the public eye after her operations — and it’s only strengthened her resolve to quit,” the source added.

This has allegedly rocked her marriage to Prince William and the monarchy.

According to the same source, William is “beside himself” about Kate’s potential departure.

“William is beside himself over her decision,” the source stated, as reported by Radar Online. “He can’t believe his wife would ever consider such a move.

“He made sure she understood what she was getting into when she married him, and she did an excellent job. He is afraid that she has grown emotionally unstable, but she argues that she is now seeing clearly!”

Another source said, “Kate’s disillusioned and frustrated by the ongoing drama surrounding her renegade brother-in-law, Prince Harry, and his wife, Meghan,” Radar Online shared. “But ironically, they’ve shown her there’s an alternative to being trapped in The Firm.”

The source added: “She knew when she married William her life would change forever, but never in her wildest dreams thought it would be this intense!

“Kate had a hard time when she first joined the family but after a few years assumed she’d gotten through the worst of it.”

The Palace being unusually quiet regarding Kate’s health condition sparked rumors over the severity of her condition.

What we know so far is that she won’t be returning back to her royal duties until Easter and that her schedule is completely cleared up.

Karwai Tang/WireImage

Given the fact that her recuperation is taking months, and that her whereabouts are kept a secret, it doesn’t come as a surprise that many question how serious her procedure was.

Recently, TMZ shared the first photo of Kate after her surgery in January. She could be seen wearing classes while inside a car with her mother. Some speculated that the photo was staged, but other believed that if that was the case she would have posed outside of the car.

On Mother’s Day, Kate and William shared a photo of her with her children on their X account, but the photo was soon pulled by numerous news agencies amid suspicions that the it had been “manipulated.”

The Princess took to X to explained that she had self-edited the image before posting it online.

In another chapter of the ongoing saga between Meghan Markle and the British Royal Family, the Duchess of Sussex has vowed to expose what she claims are the institution’s “double standards.” This declaration comes amid renewed sympathy for Prince Andrew, who has faced his own set of controversies, while Meghan and her husband, Prince Harry, feel abandoned and unfairly treated.

The Double Standards

Meghan Markle’s frustration with the Royal Family’s perceived double standards has reached a boiling point. She has voiced her dismay over how different members of the family are treated by both the institution and the public. While Prince Andrew, who has been embroiled in serious allegations, seems to be receiving sympathy and support, Meghan and Harry have often been portrayed negatively in the media and by royal insiders.

The Struggle for Fair Treatment

Since stepping back from their royal duties, Meghan and Harry have spoken openly about their struggles, including dealing with intense media scrutiny and a lack of support from the royal establishment. They have described their treatment as being akin to that of the Wicked Witch of the West—vilified and ostracized.

Prince Andrew’s Controversies

The contrasting treatment becomes even more pronounced when considering the controversies surrounding Prince Andrew. Despite facing severe allegations, Andrew has reportedly been met with a more forgiving and sympathetic attitude. This stark contrast has not gone unnoticed by Meghan, who sees it as a clear example of the unfair treatment she and Harry have endured.

Meghan’s Pledge to Speak Out

In light of these perceived injustices, Meghan has vowed to speak out and shed light on the Royal Family’s double standards. Her goal is to bring attention to the unequal treatment and to advocate for a more just and transparent approach within the institution.

Public Reaction

The public’s reaction to these revelations has been mixed. Some support Meghan’s stance and believe that exposing these double standards is necessary for change. Others, however, remain critical of her and Harry, viewing their actions as disruptive and self-serving.

The Bigger Picture

Meghan’s vow to expose the Royal Family’s double standards highlights the ongoing struggle between modern values and traditional institutions. As she continues to push for transparency and fairness, it will be interesting to see how the Royal Family and the public respond.

Conclusion

The narrative surrounding Meghan Markle and the British Royal Family is complex and multifaceted. As she continues to challenge the status quo and call out perceived injustices, Meghan’s journey remains a focal point of global interest. Whether her efforts will lead to meaningful change or further division is a question that only time will answer.

What do you think about Meghan Markle’s vow to expose the Royal Family’s double standards? Do you agree with her perspective, or do you see things differently? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Grace Kelly and Meghan Markle were both born in the United States and married foreign royals.

Princess Grace and Prince Rainier in 1959; Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in 2019. Victor Blackman/Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images; Chris Jackson/Getty Images
Grace Kelly was born on November 12, 1929, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. According to Biography, her father was a three-time Olympic gold medalist for rowing, while her mother was the first coach of women’s athletic teams at the University of Pennsylvania.

Meghan Markle was born on August 4, 1981, in Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Doria Ragland, was a clinical therapist and yoga instructor, while her father, Thomas Markle, worked in television as a light and photography director.

Meghan Markle and Grace Kelly were both famous actresses before becoming royalty.

Grace Kelly holding her Oscar after she was honored as the “Best Actress” of 1954 at the 27th Academy Awards; Meghan Markle acting in “Suits.” Bettmann/Getty Images; Christos Kalohoridis/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal/Getty Images
Before becoming one of the most famous royals in the world, Grace Kelly had a highly successful career as an actress. She acted in her first film, “Fourteen Hours,” when she was just 22 years old. She got her big break in 1952 with the release of “High Noon,” which launched her career to new heights.

She went on to star in “Mogambo” opposite Clark Gable and Ava Gardner, during which time she was romantically linked to Gable. For her role as Linda Nordley, she was nominated for her first Academy Award and won a Golden Globe Award for best supporting actress. She later won the Academy Award for best actress in 1954 for “The Country Girl,” beating out Judy Garland in “A Star is Born.”

In 2002, Markle landed her first official TV acting credit as Nurse Jill, a small role in “General Hospital.” However, she is best known for her role as Rachel Zane on “Suits.” She appeared in episodes from 2011 to 2018.

Princess Grace met her husband, Prince Rainier, on a photo shoot, while Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were set up on a blind date by a mutual friend.

Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly; Meghan Markle and Prince Harry during their first public outing together at the 2017 Invictus Games. Bettmann/Getty Images; Chris Jackson/Getty Images
According to Harper’s Bazaar, Grace Kelly was invited to join the United States Delegation Committee at the Cannes Film Festival in 1955. While in France for the festival, she met Prince Rainier III of Monaco on the set of a photo shoot. A year later, they were married.

In July 2016, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were set up on a blind date at Soho House in New York City by a mutual friend.

In their first sit-down interview as a couple, Markle told the BBC in 2017 that she didn’t know much about the prince or the royal family before the date.

“Because I’m from the States, you don’t grow up with the same understanding of the royal family,” she said. “I didn’t know much about him, so the only thing that I had asked [our mutual friend] when she said that she wanted to set us up, was, ‘Well, is he nice?’ Cause if he wasn’t kind, it just didn’t seem like it would make sense.”

Princess Grace and Meghan Markle both gave up their acting careers after getting engaged.

Grace Kelly on her wedding day in 1956; Meghan Markle on her wedding day in 2018. Mondadori/Getty Images; Jonathan Brady/WPA Pool/Getty Images
Grace Kelly briefly continued acting after it was announced she was engaged to Prince Rainier in order to fulfill her contract with MGM. In her final film, “High Society,” Kelly even wore one of the two opulent engagement rings given to her by Prince Rainier.

As Insider previously reported, according to The List, J. Randy Taraborrelli wrote in his book, “Once Upon a Time: Behind the Fairy Tale of Princess Grace and Prince Rainier,” that Kelly planned to continue her acting career after her wedding. However, the prince later said he and his wife had decided she would give it up.

“It was widely believed that it was Prince Rainier who made his wife stop acting, as Kelly had no plans of retiring at the time of their engagement,” The List said.

On November 29, 2017, immediately following the engagement announcement, it was officially confirmed that Markle would be exiting “Suits” after seven seasons.

“From all of us at USA Network and Universal Cable Productions, we want to send our most heartfelt congratulations to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on their engagement,” USA Network said in a statement.

“Meghan has been a member of our family for seven years and it has been a joy to work with her. We want to thank her for her undeniable passion and dedication to ‘Suits,’ and we wish her the very best.”

Her storyline was wrapped up with her character, Rachel Zane, marrying Patrick J. Adams, who plays her love interest, Mike Ross, throughout the show’s seven seasons.

However, her decision to leave Hollywood was apparently not one made by the royal family — Prince Harry told Oprah Winfrey his family suggested Markle should continue acting to earn money.

However, Princess Grace had to relinquish a majority of her Hollywood fortune to pay her royal dowry, something not required of Meghan Markle.

Prince Rainier of Monaco and American actress Grace Kelly during their wedding ceremony at the Cathedral of Saint Nicholas, Monte Carlo, in 1956. The LIFE Picture Collection via Getty Images
Before meeting Prince Rainier, Kelly was on track to become one of the most financially successful actresses in the world. However, after she was asked to pay a $2 million dowry, the equivalent of roughly $20 million today, using her own money and family wealth, she essentially had nothing left.

When she died at the age of 52, Princess Grace only had a net worth of $10,000 and the deed to her grandfather’s small cottage in Ireland in her own name.

Princess Grace’s and Meghan Markle’s marriages were both depicted in the press as fairy tale love stories.

Prince Rainier and Grace Kelly after announcing their engagement in 1956; Prince Harry and Meghan Markle after announcing their engagement in 2017. Bettmann/Getty Images; Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage/Getty Images
Both Grace Kelly’s and Meghan’s Markle’s engagement and wedding days received massive public attention. Both royal weddings were broadcast live to audiences around the world and described as “modern fairy tales.”

Kelly’s wedding to Rainier was the first royal wedding to ever be transmitted live.

Prince Rainier was seeking a bride to produce an heir to the Monegasque throne, whereas Prince Harry knew he would likely never ascend to the throne.

Grace Kelly and Meghan Markle. Sunset Boulevard/Corbis/Getty Images; Charles McQuillan/Getty Images
Kelly maintained that she married for love.

“When I married Prince Rainier, I married the man and not what he represented or what he was. I fell in love with him without giving a thought to anything else,” Kelly once said.

Prince Harry, who was fifth in line to the throne when he married Meghan Markle, had no obligation to produce an heir to the British throne. Now sixth in line, it is extremely unlikely he or his children, Archie and Lilibet, will ever ascend to the throne.

Meghan Markle and Princess Grace both retained their US citizenship after marrying into royalty.

Grace Kelly in New York City in 1982; Meghan Markle in 2018. Robin Platzer/Images/Getty Images; Clive Mason/Getty Images
According to the Princess Grace Foundation, Grace Kelly was not required to renounce her American citizenship and became a dual citizen of the United States and Monaco after marrying Prince Rainier.

Meghan Markle also retained her American citizenship and even voted in the 2020 presidential election after she and Prince Harry moved to California.

Meghan Markle and Princess Grace both experienced culture shock after moving away from the United States.

Grace Kelly and Meghan Markle. Reg Birkett/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images; Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
While both Markle and Kelly experienced vastly different ways of life in London and Monaco, respectively, after becoming royalty, they both attempted to adjust to their new roles by immersing themselves in projects and causes they cared about.

“I never really liked Hollywood. I found it unreal — unreal and full of men and women whose lives were confused and full of pain,” Kelly once said.

Once a royal, she supported charities working for child welfare and established her own foundation to benefit local artists.

Meghan Markle appears to have had a harder time adjusting to her royal life and the expectations that came with it — in a March 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, she said she was naive when she entered the marriage. Last year, the California native, Prince Harry, and their son, Archie, all relocated to Santa Barbara after stepping back from the royal family.

However, she too has focused on causes she cares about, formerly serving as a patron of charities in the UK, and launching her nonprofit foundation Archewell with Prince Harry.

A royal expert has claimed that Prince Harry is ‘heartbroken’ at the fact his children Archie and Lilibet could grow up without knowing their relatives

Royal commentator Duncan Larcombe suggests that Prince Harry is “heartbroken” over his children’s potential detachment from the Royal Family, insinuating that whereas Meghan Markle has realised her aspirations, Prince Harry has fulfilled only some of his, detailed in Woman magazine. Notwithstanding his contented role as a “loving father and husband” Mr. Larcombe believes Harry has not gained much else.

The continuing debate over Harry’s security arrangements fuels conjecture about his possible return to the UK with kids Archie and Lilibet, given added impetus by the Sussexes’ reported purchase of a property in Portugal.

Mr. Larcombe stresses: “Meghan’s dreams have all come true, but what about Harry’s? He is now richer than he was, even more famous and surrounded by celebrity hangers-on rather than the group of trusted people who called friends.”

Mr. Larcombe stresses: “Meghan’s dreams have all come true, but what about Harry’s? He is now richer than he was, even more famous and surrounded by celebrity hangers-on rather than the group of trusted people who called friends.”

Additionally, he notes: “The major change for Harry is having two children in his life and being able to play the role of loving father and husband, something he has always wanted. Though aside from that dream achieved, there is arguably little else he has really gained.”

Ultimately Mr. Larcombe emphasises Harry’s poignant dilemma: “No matter how he might try to protest, Harry will be missing his family and friends back in Britain and will be heartbroken that his children are being brought up without knowing the relatives he left behind.”

Reports and comments throughout 2024 have been rife with speculation about Prince Harry’s yearning for the UK and his attempts to mend fences with the Royal Family.

In an interview with The Mirror, Royal biographer Tom Quinn weighed in on what he describes as the end of Harry’s “honeymoon period” in America, reports AberdeenLive.

Mr Quinn remarked: “As time goes by, Harry misses some aspects of his old life in the UK.”

He went on to add: “Inevitably, the honeymoon period where everything in the States is new and exciting is coming to an end and Harry is looking back at the past through rose-tinted spectacles. He misses his Old Etonian and army friends, many of whom have not visited as they don’t get on with Meghan.”

Furthermore, Quinn suggests Harry’s ongoing legal battle to have his security costs covered by the British taxpayer is part of a wider plan to establish a permanent residence in the UK.

This sentiment has been echoed among Royal experts, who speculate that the Sussexes’ property in Portugal might symbolically and physically bring Harry closer to his roots and family members like Princess Eugenie.

CambridgeLive has reported that Princess Eugenie is thrilled about the idea of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moving closer. An insider revealed: “Eugenie is immensely fond of Harry and Meghan, as is Jack. They’ve always been incredibly close and it’s extremely heartening to them that a wider (peace for the Sussexes) with the royals is finally in sight.”

Representatives for Prince Harry have been contacted for a statement.