Friends in high places: The royals and their closest celebrity pals

After Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex departed the royal family and made a new home for themselves in the US, they were criticised for something rather regular – making friends.

The couple had leaned on the support of celebrities such as Tyler Perry, Oprah, and more in the first few months as they settled in the Californian neighbourhood of Montecito, eventually becoming friends with other celebrities.

Their most recent display of friendship was at Kris Jenner's 70th birthday bash, where they were pictured alongside the Kardashian-Jenners and many others before the photos were swiftly pulled down.

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have faced a lot of backlash for being friends with Hollywood royalty, but they're not the first royals to mingle with the stars.

From Princess Diana to Princess Eugenie, plenty of royals are chummy with stars of the movie, music and sporting worlds.

Take a look at some of the celebrity pals of the British royal family.

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Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex

Prince Harry has been in the spotlight since birth and as such, he has had a legion of celebrity friends throughout his life.

The closest of them attended his wedding to Meghan Markle, as she was known then.

They include big names such as James Blunt, Idris Elba, James Corden, polo player Nacho Figueras, Tom Hardy, former rugby player Will Greenwood, and many more.

Meghan's days as an actress kept her well-connected to a number of celebrities, many of whom attended the wedding

The cast of Suits, the show for which Meghan is most renowned, arrived in an ensemble.

Patrick J. Adams, Rick Hoffman, Gabriel Macht, Sarah Rafferty, Abigail Spencer and Gina Torres were dressed in their formal best as they watched their co-star become a royal bride.

Also making an appearance was actress Priyanka Chopra, George and Amal Clooney, Oprah, Serena Williams, Carey Mulligan, and more.

One celeb pal Meghan has in common with her brother-in-law Prince William is British actor Eddie Redmayne.

A resurfaced Twitter photo from 2015 depicts Meghan hanging out with the Oscar-winning actor in Istanbul.

Prince William

Prince William has his share of famous friends.

He knows Eddie Redmayne from their days as schoolboys at Eton College, where they played rugby together.

Though the pair have since been photographed chatting at a polo event, the actor said in a 2015 interview that they hadn't really spoken since school.

William's friends often overlap with his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales and his younger brothe,r Prince Harry.

One such friend is singer Ellie Goulding, who was invited to perform at Buckingham Palace for William's wedding in 2011.

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She sang a version of Elton John's Your Song for the newlyweds, whom she's been pictured with several times since.

She also performed at Harry's wedding in 2018 and Princess Eugenie's in the same year, and has often been called upon to perform at other royal events such as Harry's inaugural Invictus Games in 2014.

The 43-year-old future King has also found an unlikely friend in Aussie conservationist Robert Irwin, after the pair worked on the Earthshot prize together last year.

Irwin was meant to attend this year, had he been eliminated from his stint on Dancing With The Stars.

Ahead of this week's episode, the royal made a surprise call to the 21-year-old and his dance partner Witney Carson during rehearsal.

"Oh my goodness!! How are you?" Robert said as his partner Witney looked shocked at the person on the other end of the line.

Robert asked William about how things were in Rio de Janeiro, to which the prince said, "Going really well. The finalists this year are really gonna go on and save the world, we're missing you Robert."

He cheekily added, "Whilst your twinkle toes are going off elsewhere, I need you down here!"

Before the royal signed off, he made a request of Witney.

"Witney, you need to get him in as much glitter as you can," he joked, adding, "Guys, you've got a seriously good chance of winning this, so just the best of luck on the show."

Princess Beatrice

Princess Beatrice made plenty of high-profile friends while living in New York.

Among them was Victoria's Secret alumna Karlie Kloss, who was spotted hanging with the princess on various occasions.

Another friend of hers you'd probably never pick is Hollywood couple Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis.

The royal became acquainted with Kutcher through her former boyfriend of seven years, Dave Clark, whom she split from in 2016. 

The two couples were spotted out and about for dinner and drinks together various times in New York and London.

During one such outing, this selfie of the foursome in an Uber – the princess is in the back seat with her famous friends – was shared on Instagram and made headlines.

Princess Eugenie

Princess Eugenie has proved ever-popular with the It-girls of Hollywood, even dragging her cousin Harry into the mix.

The princess is chummy with British model and actress Cara Delevingne. The pair and Harry featured in a memorable photobooth snap from model Suki Waterhouse's holiday party in late 2016, with Eugenie on the far left, Harry in the front, and Delevingne on the far right.

Actresses Sienna Miller and Margot Robbie joined them in the photo.

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Delevingne once admitted to drunk texting Harry on occasion with her Suicide Squad co-star Margot Robbie, and attended Eugenie's wedding in 2018.

The model even texted the royal bride to check it was OK for her to wear a tuxedo the wedding. Eugenie's response? "Of course."

King Charles

Rod Stewart and King Charles III seem like polar opposites, but the two are said to be rather chummy.

The rocker is an ambassador for Charles' charity, The Prince's Trust, which has brought them together at various events.

Stewart and his wife Penny Lancaster are said to have become friends with Charles and wife Camilla.

Most recently, the rocker sang at the Festival of Remembrance in front of the royals and many others, but has performed for them many times over the years, including Charles' 60th birthday in 2008.

Others who have aligned themselves with the monarch include David and Victoria Beckham.

The footballer first became friends with William and Harry, meeting the future King during the World Cup in 2010, and were said to get on "like a house on fire".

From there, the two became friends, as did their partners Victoria and Catherine.

Things became so chummy between them that the Beckhams scored an invite to William and Kate's wedding in 2011.

David is also friends with Prince Harry, and has previously spoken of his fondness for the two royal brothers.

Socialising aside, the sport star has also met Queen Elizabeth on several official occasions, including when she presented him with his Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Most recently he has won the King's affection, bonding with him over their shared hobby of beekeeping and being awarded a knighthood after years of campaigning.

Princess Diana

The late Princess Diana had a number of bright stars in her friendship circle, including pop legends George Michael and Elton John, who attended her funeral together in 1997.

The Princess of Wales met Michael, who died in December 2016, backstage the World Aids Day concert in Wembley in 1989.

According to reports, they became close confidantes through late-night phone calls and secret meetings.

“Diana was the only person that I knew who made me feel like an ordinary person. That’s what I thought was so amazing about her,” he once said of the royal.

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