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Loose Women star Denise Welch has slammed Matt Hancock after he joined the I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! cast

Loose Women star Denise Welch has said she is ‘fuming’ over Matt Hancock ’s casting on the upcoming series of I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!

The West Suffolk MP has defended his decision to appear on the ITV reality show in Australia, saying it is a ‘powerful tool’ to reach young people.

Yet Mr Hancock – who has arrived in Brisbane ahead of the show’s launch on Sunday – has faced criticism over the decision and was yesterday suspended as a Conservative MP.

On Wednesday’s Loose Women, the ITV panel turned to the highly anticipated reality show as Denise ripped into the former Health Secretary’s decision to enter the jungle.

She said she is ‘disgusted’ at the news and has been unable to ‘find the humour’ in the announcement of his inclusion in the line-up.

Denise ripped into the former Health Secretary’s decision ( 
Image:
ITV)
She said: “As far as I’m concerned we are still suffering the repercussions of what happened over the last few years.

“I was very vocal about Covid restrictions – some being incredibly unnecessary and the impact they would have on people’s livelihoods and mental health.”

She continued: “Matt Hancock was at the forefront of those. We all know now that we weren’t allowed to see our granny or anybody who had a family member in hospital or a home during Covid.

“My dad subsequently died of pneumonia. I wasn’t allowed to see him at certain times. I live with the pain of that every day.

“We could say, I will do a test before I go and visit my dad who is lonely in his house – no.”

Mr Hancock touched down in Brisbane ahead of the show launch this weekend ( 
Image:
Credit / Daily Star)
She added: “Whilst he was having an affair with some woman in the broom closet or wherever he was. While the government from day one of this were carrying on in Downing Street.”

Denise went on to insist Mr Hancock is ‘not a celebrity’, adding: “He’s going to go in there and pretend he’s Mr Nice Guy.

“I’ve never envied people going in the jungle – I love the show and I’m a huge viewer – but I’d go in there for nought for one hour.”

Loose Women host Jane Moore joked: “I don’t think you could cover all you’ve got to say in one hour,” and Denise replied: “Well I’d give it a damn good try.”

“I’ve never envied people going in the jungle but I’d go in there for nought for one hour.” ( 
Image:
ITV)This comes after the independent MP’s colleague Isabel Oakeshott opened up about the behind the scenes decision-making process after Mr Hancock touched down in Brisbane ahead of the show launch this weekend.

She said the decision was ‘very last minute’ but noted she did discuss it with Mr Hancock before it was made known to the public yesterday.

She said: “He did ask me what I thought and whether I thought it was a good idea. Obviously I presented the pros and cons.

“Before I knew it, he had disappeared off to Australia. So I think this was a pretty last minute decision. Although, he has said publicly he’s twice turned it down before.”

Strictly Come Dancing has been hit with fresh claims the BBC One show is “fixed” after Fleur East and Vito Coppola fell while performing – but viewers at home never saw it

Strictly Come Dancing stars Fleur East and her professional dance partner Vito Coppola have addressed a fix row that has erupted around reports footage of their dance-off was cut from the broadcast.

The latest Halloween special episode, which was recorded on Saturday and aired the following day, saw Fleur, 35, take on EastEnders actor James Bye in the dreaded dance-off.

However, there was one moment which didn’t make the final broadcast, as a source claimed this week that the pair fell to the ground.

The pair were then reportedly allowed to restart their dance, and went on to win the dance-off against James Bye and Amy Dowden, who became the latest stars to exit the show.

The pair addressed the reports during an appearance on Loose Women on Thursday afternoon, as they sat down with host Kaye Adams, who was eliminated from the BBC One ballroom dancing show in the first week.

Strictly Come Dancing stars Fleur East and her professional dance partner Vito Coppola have addressed a fix row ( 
Image:
ITV)
Explaining the fall, Vito clarified it had been him that took a tumble, as opposed to Fleur, as was previously reported.

He told the panel: “Basically, in the first few seconds of our number, I just fell down on the chair.

“Everyone was gasping there. But luckily they made sure that I was okay, so we were able to restart. I’m fine. I’m here today.”

It was claimed Fleur fell and pulled partner Vito down with her ( 
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PA)
Panellist Denise Welch clarified the decision to restart was made due to health and safety, as the pair were checked by medical staff on hand.

Vito continued: “We were continuing, because we always say to each other, ‘If anything happens, let’s just keep going’.

“I was trying to stand up and continue, when I turned Fleur was spinning away.”

Smiling, Fleur added: “I was ready. I was like, ‘The show must go on’. Then production decided to stop the music and we were like, ‘Oh, okay’.”

The pair addressed the reports during an appearance on Loose Women ( 
Image:
ITV)The BBC similarly addressed the controversy today in an official statement following the fix claims over the edited broadcast.

A spokesperson for the BBC said: “After an incident with a prop at the beginning of Fleur and Vito’s dance-off performance, the decision was made to halt proceedings to check they were not injured.

“As they had not begun to dance before the incident occurred, it was decided they could start the performance again, once it was confirmed they were fit to do so.”

Fleur added: “I was ready. I was like, ‘The show must go on’. Then production decided to stop the music.” ( 
Image:
ITV)

Nadia Sawalha claimed the U.K isn’t the best place to be an old person at the moment on today’s Loose Women, as the former EastEnders actress revealed her parents have moved abroad for an exciting new chapter of their lives

Nadia Sawalha shared her mixed feelings about her parents recent decision to move abroad on today’s edition of Loose Women.

Chatting with co-stars Kaye Adams, Frankie Bridge and Jane Moore, the former EastEnders actress explained how her parents Nadim and Betty have jetted off on an exciting adventure abroad, as the U.K is not ‘a great place’ to live as an elderly person.

Nadia, 57, candidly admitted that while she is heartbroken to see her parents leave the country, she is thrilled to see them embracing a new lifestyle in Jordan after living next door to her in Britain for many years.

“My dad is 89 and few things going on with his health,” the star explained on Loose Women today.

“My dad has decided to go home to Jordan. We took them to the airport,” she continued.

Nadia Sawalha explained her parents’ reasons for leaving the U.K on Loose Women today ( 
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ITV)
Nadia went on to ponder how England perhaps isn’t the best country for older people to spend their final years – citing horrifying waiting times to see a doctor as one reason why.

“My dad is now sitting with his brother out in the sun – he sent me a picture,” she told those in the Loose Women studio today as she discussed her parents recent move.

She revealed her dad is currently writing a play at the age of 89, before admitting: “I want them with me – I already miss them desperately – but if you love someone you let them go.”

The star often shares snaps of her beloved parents on social media ( 
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nadiasawalha/Instagram)
“I don’t think [this country] is a very good place for the elderly to live at the moment.”

In 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Nadia revealed how her parents felt ‘like a burden’ as the country headed in and out of lockdown and tried to tackle to virus.

“Not ‘elderly’ not ‘vulnerable’ not ‘a burden’ not ‘a drain on the system’’ Nadia declared on social media and she showed how much her parents mean to her.

She went on to add: “Dad says he hates being defined in that way. He hates the way the media pigeon hole his generation and leave them feeling like they are a burden.

“Well let me tell you Mum and Dad none of those descriptions come to my mind when I look at you. What does though , is a damn cool couple sat in their boyband coats eating pork pies and having a hoot!!

“I love you both so much. Funny, wise and infuriating!! Just as it should be !! @nadimsawalha.’

Nadia is the daughter of the Jordanian-born British actor Nadim Sawalha and his English wife Roberta Lane, known as Betty.

*Loose Women airs weekdays from 12.30pm on ITV and ITVHub

Matt Hancock is unlikely to avoid some awkward moments even when he is in the I’m A Celeb camp and away from the backlash back home…

As a newsreader and Loose Women host Charlene White is used to having strong opinions and asking some difficult questions.

And although she doesn’t know it yet, a big news moment may be just around the corner in the I’m A Celebrity camp.

Matt Hancock is unlikely to avoid some awkward moments even when he is in camp and away from the backlash back home – as Charlene says she will “constantly ask questions” in camp to all the contestants meaning there is nowhere to hide.

Although she does not know who all her campmates are yet, Charlene said: “I have got a natural curiosity for people so it doesn’t matter who I meet on a daily basis it could be, I don’t know the security that has been working on this show, or people I bump into on the street, I am constantly asking questions because I love to learn about people.

Charlene White is set to grill Matt Hancock in the jungle ( 
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ITV)

Hancock’s signing has proved to be controversial

“I think that you can learn a lot about life by asking questions and I think there is too much of a temptation for people to not be interested in other human beings, whereas I am of the opinion like ‘oh my God there is like a million stories in each and every one of us’ why do you not want to find out more about another person.”

Asked what the worst type of character in camp could be, she said: “Oh there isn’t a worst character. Part of the work that I do as a journalist I meet fascinating people, interesting people and difficult people every single day.

Charlene arrived in Brisbane Airport earlier this week ( 
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James Gourley/REX/Shutterstock)
“Working on Loose we have such a plethora of personalities which is incredible. I think luckily my strength is that I have to work with different characters on a daily basis and not a lot fazes me to be honest. So I don’t really think there is a worst type of character, that is unless it was someone that wasn’t particularly that fussed by hygiene. I think that probably goes back to my Carribean roots and having grown up in a Church where we were taught that cleanliness is next to godliness.”

Charlene took weeks to decide whether to do the show as it meant leaving her children behind for a month, somethng she had never done before.

She is used to presenting Loose Women and ITV News ( 
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Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)

She admitted she was already really missing son Alfie, five, and daughter Florence, three, and finding it tough.

Close to tears, she said: “I have been trying really hard not to look at their pictures, because I know that it will get me all emotional. I miss them massively but as long as I don’t see pictures of them I can sort of hold on to some semblance of sanity but then I saw pictures of them yesterday in their Halloween outfits and I had a good old cry because they both looked really beautiful and really happy and I miss them tons.

“It wasn’t always plain sailing with both of those births and I think many women will be able to understand and I think there is an element of me feeling that if I can get through two births and survive and live to tell the tale and able to carry on with life once I have healed that is phenomenal then I think you get into you forties and you almost don’t feel like you need to challenge yourself anymore whereas I see this as being an opportunity to give myself something where I am being challenged.”

Charlene says onen reason for signing up for the show was “you get into your forties and you don’t necessarily give yourself challenges anymore”.

Charlene is swapping the studio for the jungle

She will be missing her children during her I’m A Celeb stint ( 
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Brett D. Cove / SplashNews.com)
But after this huge challenge she says she will be back on Loose Women and the news within a few days.

And she can’t wait to see news updates every few minutes again, after struggling without her phone and rolling news.

She said: “It is torture! It is aboslute torture the first thing I do when I wake up at home is I roll over I go through all the news websites, my apps, through all the socials, to catch up on what news has happened overnight, what the top stories are all of that stuff so to not have had that and know that I am not going to have that for another few weeks is honestly torture and I think we all know just how fast paced the news has been over the last few years let alone the last few months.

So I honestly have no idea what sort of especially political environment I’ll be going back home to because it could all be all change by the time I get back.”

Depending on what questions she asks, Charlene could even help speak debate in the political environment.

The entrepreneur, 50 – who is known for fronting property development shows like Property Ladder – announced in August that she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer

Sarah Beeny has told how she kept her cancer diagnosis from her husband and kids because she “needed to handle it in [her] own head before telling them”.

The entrepreneur, 50 – who is known for fronting property development shows like Property Ladder – announced in August that she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer.

The presenter – who began chemotherapy a few months ago – cut off some of her hair prior to treatment and has since embraced going bald.

The telly favourite appeared on Loose Women to discuss her diagnoses with the panel.

She told how she had received her diagnosis 40 years after she lost her mum to the same disease when she was 10 years old and her mum just 39.

Sarah Beeny said she kept her cancer diagnosis from her husband and kids while ‘handling it in her own head first’
Sarah heartbreakingly told the ITV show: “I’ve waited my whole life for this diagnosis. I always expected it.”

She got regular checks all through her 20s and paid after the scheme shut down to have regular checks privately.

She told how she had recently had her standard age 50 mammogram but went back for another check after finding a lump.

“I hit 50 and I was diagnosed and was like ‘oh, here it is’. It was waiting for me,” Sarah said, telling how her mum’s diagnosis and death had haunted her since childhood and she’d always just “assumed” she’d get it.

“Trust your own body, go back again if you have a lump,” she advised viewers and the audience.

The property developer told how she went to her diagnosis appointment alone and waiting before telling her family.

The telly favourite appeared on Loose Women to discuss her diagnoses with the panel
The mum-of-four said: “I needed to handle it in my own head before telling them.”

Sarah recently spoke about having shaved her head after being diagnosed with cancer, saying that she now wants to challenge shame that’s associated with baldness.

Sarah recently told how she’s keen to “change [the] stereotype” around baldness, saying people can feel “ashamed” or be perceived as “victims” – though she wants to challenge such ideas.

Speaking to the Daily Mail ‘s Weekend magazine, she said people with no hair are often seen as “victims” and added that cancer patients are often “ashamed” to go bald.

The property developer told how she went to her diagnosis appointment alone and waiting before telling her family
Sarah said a lack of hair can be associated with victimhood and punishment, citing examples like Fantine in Les Misérables and Game of Thrones’ Cersei Lannister.

She said: “People are ashamed of their bald heads. […] Why? If you’ve got breast cancer and you’re having treatment, the fact you have no hair is not a reason to be ashamed”.

Sarah – who debuted her shaved head in photos for the outlet – said: “I don’t want to be ashamed. I don’t want other people to feel ashamed. I want to change that stereotype.”

She had initially cut her hair short with the help of her sons Billy, 18, Charlie, 16, Raffey 14, and Laurie, 13. She posted about the experience on Instagram back in August.

She announced that she had donated her locks to charity the Little Princess Trust, which provides real hair wigs to children and young people who have lost their hair.

Just a few weeks later, Sarah revealed on the social media platform that she had shaved her head after her hair began to fall out in clumps amid chemotherapy.

Discussing the experience with Weekend magazine, she said that it was “really traumatic” when her hair began to fall out after she had started the treatment following her diagnosis.

She recalled that she cried over it and said that she ended up shaving her head shortly afterwards. She has since tattooed her eyebrows in case they fall out in the future.

Sarah – who now has a collection of wigs at home – said that her cancer is fast growing, but explained that there is no evidence that it has spread to her lymph nodes.

And she is said to have been keeping busy with various projects, including working on a new book about her life as well as a Channel 4 documentary about her cancer.

Charlene White has revealed she has been getting I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here advice from her Loose Women co-star Linda Robson ahead of her jungle stint

Charlene White has been getting I’m A Celebrity advice from her Loose Women co-star Linda Robson.

The ITV news presenter has revealed what advice her co-stars have been giving to her ahead of the launch of the ITV show, which begins on Sunday evening. Charlene is joining nine other celebrities in the Australian jungle.

Ahead of the new series, she has revealed just what advice her co-stars had been giving her, and admitted some of them would be likely to vote her in for the trials. However, she insisted one of the panellists would be kind to her and do all they could to make sure she wasn’t subjected to the worst of the Bushtucker trials.

Linda Robson has given Charlene some interesting advice ( 
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Getty Images)

Charlene is ready to grill the celebs in the jungle ( 
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ITV)
Asked by The Mirror if any other celebrities had given her some advice, she said: “Yes, Linda Robson suggested that I try and sneak sleeping pills into my bra. Allegedly, she did that when she did this.

“But I will not – and I’ve got a producer staring at me – I definitely will not be doing that.”

Charlene is a staple on Loose Women lunchtimes, and she has admitted some of them will be desperate to see her doing the trials.

“You know what, there’s a chance that they would vote for me to do it. I find it really funny. Like I think Coleen [Nolan] would find it really funny, Denise [Welch] would definitely find it really funny. I think Nadia definitely wouldn’t,” she revealed.

Charlene sits on the Loose Women panel ( 
Image:
Ken McKay/ITV/REX/Shutterstock)
“Nadia [Sawalha] would be very much like no, we can’t put her through that. Janet [Street Porter] probably would make me to do it. So I think she’d absolutely kill herself laughing. So be it’d be less about trying to talk to me and more about them thinking it well, you know, it would absolutely crack them up that evening.”

Being on the ITV show panel, Charlene feels she is “quite outspoken by nature” – and hasn’t ruled out telling off any of the celebrities.

Charlene’s ready to head into the jungle ( 
Image:
ITV)“I’m quite outspoken by nature. And I think for a harmonious living experience. I think you’ve got to be honest with each other about stuff otherwise the whole thing doesn’t really work,” she shared ahead of her jungle stint.

“I’m not saying that I’m going to be yelling at people and interrogating them or anything like that but I have a genuine love of sitting and talking to people, that’s why I do the jobs that I do.”

She added: “Just because somebody’s a celebrity doesn’t mean that they can’t get a telling off from me.”

Loose Women star Sophie Morgan discussed how abusive can manifest in relationships for disabled people, as she recalled being ‘left in the sea for hours’ when chatting on the ITV show

Sophie Morgan has recalled a shocking incident that occured in a past relationship during today’s edition of Loose Women.

Sophie gave examples of how disabled people can be vulnerable when it comes to being subjected to physical and emotional abuse and shared her own experience – telling the Loose Women audience how she was once ‘left in the sea’ for hours’ in a past relationship.

The award-winning disability advocate, 37, spoke on the ITV show ahead of her new documentary airing, in which she investigates how disabled abuse victims are being ‘let down by police’ on tonight’s installment of Dispatches on Channel 4.

Sophie was just 18 when she was involved in a car crash that left her instantly paralysed from the chest down in 2003.

Sophie Morgan spoke about her new documentary on today’s edition of Loose Women ( 
Image:
ITV)

The star was hospitalised and rehabilitated for about three months and now uses a wheelchair as a result of a spinal injury.

Speaking with co-stars Janet Street-Porter, Jane Moore and Coleen Nolan on this week’s first offering of Loose Women, Sophie explained how disabled people can suffer abuse from their romantic partners.

“Say for example, I get into an argument with a boyfriend and they take my wheelchair away from me which would leave me stuck and dependant on them – very intimating.

Sophie was just a teenager when a car accident left her needing a wheelchair ( 
Image:
Sophie Morgan)
“Or we have a row they put things out of reach…. I got left in the sea once for hours, so there was specific abuse around the fact I had a physical disability but then there was the tolerating of certain behaviours that I tolerated because I have a disability.

She continued to say: “I had internalised this message ‘you’re disabled it’s all that… it’s not that you deserve it but just get on with it’.”

The star spoke candidly on today’s edition of Loose Women ( 
Image:
ITV)
Tonight’s episode of Dispatches on Channel 4 will see Sophie exploring the shocking statistic that one in seven disabled people experience domestic violence compared to one in 20 non-disabled people.

“Some of the stories we heard I don’t think I will ever forget. It was really heartbreaking,” said in an interview early this month when discussing the upcoming programme.

“We spoke to various survivors to try and unpack how abuse affects people with different disabilities in different ways.”

The TV presenter turned her life around after being told she would never walk again ( 
Image:
PA)

Sophie lives her life with ‘no regrets’ following the accident ( 
Image:
c4)Speaking earlier this year, Sophie compared the “two different lives” she has led, as both a disabled and non-disabled person, and confessed she doesn’t live her life “with regret or remorse”.

“Non-disabled and disabled are very different experiences,” she told OK! magazine in March.

“It does feel like two different lives. The person I became after my injury is very different to the person I was. I’ve grown up, obviously, as I was a kid, but those two realities, personalities, identities definitely feel very split.”

Loose Women airs weekdays from 12.30pm on ITV and ITVHub

*If you need help, call the National Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0808 2000 247 – it’s run by charity Refuge and the free number is in operation 24 hours a day

Janet Street Porter offered up her own experience of unexpectedly coming on her period, when the panel erupt into anarchy and hysterics as the panellists bantered back and forth

Loose Women ramped up the savagery today as banter on the panel got out of hand.

One of the day’s discussions turned to tennis bosses at Wimbledon finally deciding to relax the “whites” dress code for players.

Competitors will still be required to wear all-white clothes on top but the All England Club will allow coloured underwear in 2023 to consider the issues some female players may have with their menstrual cycles.

The break from long standing tradition was hot topic for the Loose Women as they hailed the rule change as a long overdue breakthrough.

Loose Women ramped up the savagery today as banter on the panel got out of hand

Janet Street Porter offered up her own experience of unexpectedly coming on her period, when the panel erupt into anarchy and hysterics as the panellists bantered back and forth.

“I’m going to walk to the toilet as if it’s perfectly natural to walk like that with my legs together,” Janet demonstrated as she pretended to hold a newspaper over her bum to hide a leak on her way to the loo.

“It happened to me once in a very posh London restaurant…” she began.

“What your legs together?” Coleen interjected, much to the amusement of the audience. “Come on she’s been married four times!” the ITV star went on as the audience and panel burst into laughter.

Janet branded Coleen a ‘pig person’

Coleen interjected with a savage dig, much to the amusement of the audience
“Ok, pig person,” Janet quipped back, referencing a later show talking point about being “piggy in the middle” in arguments between others.

“Stop it! It’ll be in the magazines,” Coleen cackled.

“Alright, all I’m saying is that every woman watching this will have had that moment, that leakage moment. And it’s not something that happens like it does in the ads.”

Elsewhere on today’s episode, Sarah Beeny joined the panel to discuss her cancer diagnosis and how she kept it from her husband and kids because she “needed to handle it in [her] own head before telling them”.

The entrepreneur, 50 – who is known for fronting property development shows like Property Ladder – announced in August that she’d been diagnosed with breast cancer.

Prince Harry wanted Diana ‘to himself’, left William in pickle

Prince Harry and Prince William’s relationship as children laid bare

 

Prince Harry and Prince William were never close as kids, it is revealed.

The Duke of Sussex and the Prince of Wales, who are currently not on speaking terms after Harry’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, were not the best of buddies either back in the days.

Royal expert Ingrid Seward admits she spoke to Princess Diana while she was still alive and discussed concerns around the two brothers.

She said : She obviously really tried to help him, but all Harry really wanted to do was have his mother to himself.

“He would sometimes pretend that he was ill at school so she could pick him up and take him home so he could sit and watch television with her all afternoon. He was a very tactile young boy. Very close to his mother.”

Ms Seward continued: “I remember after William went on his gap year, way back on operation Raleigh, Harry said ‘he’s much nicer now’, so this myth that Harry and Wiliam were very close, is a myth.

“They were only really close after their mother died. Of course they unified and they were the only two people that knew what it felt like.

“But they weren’t very close as youngsters.”

Grace Kelly and Meghan Markle. Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images; CBS

Meghan Markle is frequently compared to Grace Kelly, who became Princess Grace of Monaco in 1956 and died on September 14, 1982.

Markle and Kelly were both famous American actresses before marrying into royal families.
However, Grace Kelly was forced to give up her career and Hollywood fortune to become a royal.

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.

After starting a relationship with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle faced negativity and racism in the press.

Meghan Markle newspaper headlines. Yui Mok/PA Images/Getty Images
While there were negative reports about Kelly in the press during her time in Hollywood, Princess Grace was adored by both the people of Monaco and the Monegasque media.

However, Meghan Markle faced oftentimes unfair backlash and criticism from the British tabloids, practically from the moment she was romantically linked to Prince Harry. Her and Prince Harry’s treatment by the British press resulted in multiple lawsuits and a string of legal battles.

Meghan Markle also spoke out about the problems she faced within the royal family that led to her and Prince Harry relinquishing their royal duties and moving to California.