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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
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Jennifer Newton

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's celeb pals - and mates they've cut off along the way

After quitting the Royal Family two years ago, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle now have a new life in California.

As well as their stunning mansion and multi-million dollar business deals, the couple now boast a star-studding friendship circle.

Among them is superstar tennis player Serena Williams, who joined Harry yesterday for an online summit, where they talked about mental health.

During the chat, Serena revealed her close bond with the prince saying he's like her life coach and that they "chat for hours".

But who are the couple's other showbiz pals, and which friends are they no longer close to? Here we take a look...

Serena Williams

Serena Williams took part in an online chat with Prince Harry yesterday (BetterUp)

The tennis champ has had a long-standing friendship with Meghan and it appears that has now extended to Harry too.

Meghan first met Serena in 2010 at the Super Bowl in Miami, Florida.

Speaking about their friendship on her former lifestyle blog The Tig, Meghan said she and the tennis ace bonded very quickly when playing a game of flag football, which is a variation of American football.

Meghan wrote: “We hit it off immediately.

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“Taking pictures, laughing through the flag football game we were both playing in, and chatting not about tennis or acting, but about all the good old fashioned girly stuff.”

Then-actress Meghan and Serena were also snapped together at the 2014 Super Bowl in East Rutherford, New Jersey, and again at the launch of Serena's clothing line during New York Fashion Week in 2016.

Serena was at Meghan's wedding to Harry in 2018 and also attended her baby shower in New York in 2019.

Meghan has also been spotted at the US Open as well as Wimbledon lending her support to Serena when she's been in action.

Ellen DeGeneres

Meghan during an appearance on The Ellen Show (The Ellen Show)

Another celeb close to Harry and Meghan is chat show host Ellen DeGeneres along with her wife Portia de Rossi.

They are neighbours in Montecito, California, and in a recent interview on her show, Meghan revealed how they had all spent Halloween together.

Ellen also hinted at how close they were last year, saying she'd invited some dancers on to her show at Meghan's recommendation.

She also leapt to Meghan and Harry's defence on her talk show, saying it was "not fair" seeing them "get attacked".

She said: "They are two of the most down-to-earth compassionate people, they're doing so much good for the world."

Meghan revealed how she spent Halloween with Ellen (Ellentube.com)

Ellen and Meghan struck up a friendship in 2012 after an encounter at a pet shelter, which ended with Meghan taking home Bogart, a Labrador-shepherd mix.

Meghan recalled the encounter in an interview in Best Health in 2017, when she said: "Now, I don't know her, but Ellen goes 'Is that your dog?'

"And I said, 'No,' and she's like, 'You have to take that dog.' And I said, 'Well, I'm deciding.' And she's like, 'Rescue the dog!'"

"It's sort of like if Oprah tells you to do something. I'm sitting there holding him and she's like 'Have you thought of a name for him yet?' And I said, 'Well, I think I'd name him Bogart,' and she's like 'You're taking the dog home.'

"And she walks outside to get into her car but instead of getting in she turns around and comes and taps on the window glass and she yells 'Take the dog!' And so I brought him home. Because Ellen told me to."

Orlando Bloom

Orlando Bloom with fiance Katy Perry (Getty Images)

Last year, Harry spoke of a friendship he has struck up with actor Orlando Bloom, who lives "down the road" from him in California.

Speaking on Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert podcast to discuss his mental health struggles, Harry admitted that he regularly texts his new friend, who is dating singer Katy Perry, about paparazzi.

He said: "Two days ago Orlando Bloom sent me a message because he is just down the road and we sort of keep in contact because of the paparazzi.

"He sent me a photograph which his security got of this long-haired guy with a beanie on, ear pods on with his massive camera lying in the back of his 4x4 truck, blacked-out windows."

Orlando later voiced Harry in the satirical cartoon The Prince, and the series came under fire for its portrayal of the royals.

During an appearance on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen, creator Gary Janetti said: "I don't know if Harry has said anything to Orlando about it, but I know before the show premiered, he was aware that Orlando was doing it.

Priyanka Chopra

Actress Priyanka Chopra has been a close friend of Meghan's - even before the former Suits actress met Harry.

The pair first met at an ELLE Women in Television dinner in 2016 and struck up a bond. Soon after, Meghan interviewed Priyanka for her blog The Tig.

Meanwhile in 2018, Priyanka wrote an open letter about her friend before the royal wedding and around the same time Meghan made it onto the TIME 100 list.

Priyanka's heartfelt note read: "More than anything else, Meghan is an important influencer in a world that needs strong public figures to respect and look up to.

“People the world can be inspired by. Meghan, standing shoulder to shoulder with Harry, will be a princess for the people.”

Zendaya and Tom Holland

It appears that a new couple in Harry and Meghan's inner circle could be Spider-Man stars Zendaya and Tom Holland.

It was reported last weekend that Harry and Meghan contacted the acting stars out of the blue and asked for a sit down with the pair despite never meeting them before.

The secret meeting is thought to have gone ahead at the Sussex's Montecito home.

The apparent meet up could have been due to the royals looking to pull in big names for their £18million Spotify podcast project which has so far failed to materialise - other than a one-off special.

And those they are no longer close to...

The Obamas

Harry with Michelle Obama at the opening of the Invictus Games in Orlando in 2016 (Chris Jackson Collection)

Harry and Meghan seemed to have had a close bond with former US president Barack Obama and his wife Michelle.

They had been pictured together at sporting events around the world and Michelle and Meghan worked together on a number of projects.

But last year, the couples' relationship was put under the spotlight after the Sussexes weren't at the former president's glitzy 60th birthday party in Martha's Vineyard.

It's unclear if Harry and Meghan were not invited, or simply were unable to attend. But it's been suggested that their friendship with the Obamas has gone cold.

And according to royal expert Camilla Tominey, their absence could have been down to the fact that the former president and first lady do not approve of Harry's attacks on the royal family.

An insider told Camilla writing in the Telegraph : "The Obamas didn’t like Harry attacking his family. They value family and certainly aren’t the type of people who would want their children talking to the press."

Piers Morgan

There is no love lost between Piers Morgan and Meghan - but this was not always the case.

The pair has been friends after they connected on social media back in 2015.

Piers has bragged that he and the former Suits actress struck up a friendship online and that they quickly became in regular contact.

When Piers followed the actress on Twitter, she sent him a direct message which read: "Well hello there - thanks for the follow. Big fan of yours!"

They were on such good terms that Meghan would send Piers previews of Suits episodes for him to watch before fans did.

Then in the summer of 2016, their friendship progressed with them arranging to meet up for drinks when Meghan was visiting the UK.

She met with Piers at his favourite pub - The Scarsdale Tavern in Kensington - and he claims they chatted for hours.

Piers then says Meghan "went cold" and that their drink in Kensington was the last time he ever spoke to her.

He explained: "She met Prince Harry at the dinner that night, went on a solo date with him the next night, and I never heard from her again. Not a word. I’d been ghosted."

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