My favorite engagement of all time took place today when Meghan and Harry walked the red (or should I say orangey-yellow) carpet to attend the premiere of The Lion King in London.
Ahead of the Lion King premiere, Omid Scobie tweeted, “Last minute carpet prep in Leicester Square for the royal premiere of #TheLionKing. Expect some BIG red carpet surprises … “
A video of Meghan and Harry arriving at the Lion King premiere:
American rapper Pharrell Williams and other A-listers were very happy to know that Harry and Meghan was attending the Lion King premiere
Meghan and Harry started off greeting people who had been waiting hours for them to arrive!
You can hear people’s reactions in the clip below:
Meghan got in touch with a girl named Amzy who said: “Hey, my name is Amzy, nice to meet you, I watched suits.” Meghan replied: “ohh did you”. While smiling all over her face.
A boy named Gavin complimented Meghan by telling her that “It’s really refreshing to see someone with such royalty able to do something so amazing” Meghan was very touched by his kind words and told him that she “appreciated it”.
He also tweeted about the exchange after the Lion King premiere:
Meghan and Gavin:
Billy Eichner who played Timon in the movie, revealed that he and Meghan went to the same college:
Billy waited in a long line inside to meet Harry and Meghan as a video caught him reciting well-wishes for the pair. ‘I’m going to say pleasure to meet you … is that bad?” he asked Seth Rogen, who is playing Pumba in the film.
He then started nervously reciting the perfect greeting for the couple while practicing saying the perfect line with Seth Rogen. ‘I’m going to say it … I’m going to say it,’ he tells himself, seemingly striking up the courage to face Meghan and Harry.
Watch him freak out trying to remember the “intense” protocol on how to greet Harry and Meghan below:
In the clip below you can hear him telling Meghan the funny fact. “I went to Northwestern, 2000”. .
Billy Eichner later tweeted that the royal couple were ‘down to earth and lovely’, and that he and Meghan had a small conversation about their acting teachers
I really loved how people cheered Meghan that night. The encouraging words she received touched me a lot, and I am sure they meant a lot to her. She needed to hear these kind words during a difficult period, where she had been facing widespread backlash over her privacy demands.
Pharrell Williams took the opportunity to praise her and Harry´s relationship, telling them: ‘So happy for your union. Love is amazing. It’s wonderful.Don’t ever take that for granted, but what it means in today’s climate, I just wanted to tell you it’s so significant for so many of us. Seriously.’
Note Harry’s comment at the beginning about his outfit:
Harry and Meghan also greeted Elton John and his husband David Furnish. Elton was overheard saying, “I’m admiring your shoes, though to be fair, his jazzy flats were also pretty on point.” Elton John was complimenting Pharrell Williams’s dashing style. Meanwhile, Prince Harry couldn’t get enough of Pharrell and his shorts and tuxedo jacket combo, saying, ‘I love the look’.
Meghan and Harry also got the chance to speak to 12-year-olds Evie Chambers and Valentina Walker, whose parents work at Disney.
During the conversation, Harry revealed his love for the Lion King. While discussing their favorite characters, Harry disclosed that his were Timon and Pumbaa.
“Can you tell he’s a big fan? He knows all the characters,” Meghan said.
“Actually, I know everything by heart, which is even sadder,” Harry said.
The two girls gifted the couple book and a Simba toy from the girls as gifts for Archie.
And then…… what almost broke the internet that night – Meghan meeting Beyonce along with their husbands. When they first went in for a hug, lip-reading fans believe Beyoncé called Meghan “my princess,” which is probably the highest honor anyone could receive.
I shared a clip on my Instagram revealing what they said.
Beyoncé said to Meghan, “We love you guys.” Meghan held her hand and thanked her right before Harry joined the discussion.
Harry: you guys are busy.
Beyoncé: I little bit yes – but not more busy than you guys.
Jay-Z: Yeah – congratulations on your newborn baby.
Harry: well, he is not so little anymore.
Harry then had a proud parent moment as he talked about how Archie can now hold his neck up, which he said is “so exciting.” (It’s the little things!) At one point, he was seen rubbing Meghan’s back during the exchange.
Fun fact: Meghan was a big fan of Beyonce long before the two met for the first time that night! Back when her Instagram was still in use, she often gave shoutouts to Queen Bey in her captions.
And the love between Queen Bey and Meghan is mutual. Back in 2019 Beyoncé and Jay-Z won the 2019 Brit Award for Best International Group. Though they were not present in-person to accept their award, they recorded a clever acceptance speech in a video that paid tribute to Meghan.
“Thank you so much to the BRIT Awards for this incredible honor. You guys have always been so supportive. Everything is love,” Beyoncé said while holding the trophy and referencing the couple’s recent collaborative album. “Thank you.” Jay-Z jokingly deadpanned, “You’re welcome.”
The premiere supported a very important cause close to Harry’s heart! Ahead of the engagement Buckingham Palace said:
“The premiere is being held in support of the conservation and communities work of His Royal Highness through the Royal Foundation. The Duke of Sussex has taken a deep personal interest in frontline conservation projects that work to protect Africa’s natural heritage and support both wildlife and local communities. On leaving the Army in 2015, His Royal Highness spent three months working on number of such projects in Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa and Botswana. The Duke of Sussex is President of African Parks and Patron of Rhino Conservation Botswana. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will undertake an official visit to South Africa this autumn at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Duke of Sussex will visit Angola and Malawi at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and undertake a working visit to Botswana whilst in the region.”
To celebrate the release of the movie, The Walt Disney Company launched a global conservation campaign to raise awareness of the crisis facing lions and other wildlife across Africa. “Protect the Pride” focuses on protecting and revitalizing lion populations and the habitats they need to thrive. Disney donated more than $1.5 million to the Wildlife Conservation Network’s (WCN) Lion Recovery Fund (LRF) and its partners.
The Royal Foundation said:
“The Royal Foundation is excited to be involved in and support the Protect the Pride campaign, alongside partners including the Wildlife Conservation Network’s Lion Recovery Fund to find solutions that benefit people, communities and wildlife across Africa. Through the work of His Royal Highness, the Royal Foundation is committed to advancing community conservation efforts across Africa and around the world, working with communities to ensure a sustainable future for the planet.
The Duke of Sussex has taken a deep personal interest in frontline conservation projects that work to protect Africa’s natural heritage and support both wildlife and local communities. On leaving the Army in 2015, His Royal Highness spent three months working on number of such projects in Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa and Botswana.
The Duke of Sussex is President of African Parks and Patron of Rhino Conservation Botswana. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will undertake an official visit to South Africa this autumn at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Duke of Sussex will visit Angola and Malawi at the request of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and undertake a working visit to Botswana whilst in the region.”
Meghan stunned tonight (again) wearing the Little Black Dress by Jason Wu. It’s one of Meghan’s favorite go-to brands. You’ll recall she also wore the brand when attending the 100 Days to Peace gala concert.
She styled the dress with the Aquazzura Portrait of a Lady pumps
Her Gucci Broadway clutch
And a pair of Lorraine Schwartz Diamond & Onyx Jacket Earrings
An amazing night!
XX