Meghan Markle reveals daughter Lilibet’s love of Beyonce in rare behind-the-scenes photos from family life with Prince Harry

Meghan Markle revealed daughter Lilibet’s love of pop superstar Beyoncé while giving fans a rare glimpse at family life with Prince Harry on Tuesday.

The 44-year-old Duchess of Sussex, who has struggled lately with sales of her As Ever products, posted to Instagram a series of moody black-and-white snapshots and verdant images of the grounds of what appeared to be the family’s home in Montecito, California.

The couple moved to the secluded mansion in 2020, after moving on from their British home at Frogmore Cottage earlier that year.

One image showed five-year-old Lilibet wearing a T-shirt featuring a drawing of Beyoncé with the phrase ‘B if for Beyoncé’ scrawled across the front of it.

The $48 shirt is sold by the National Women’s History Museum with a portrait by 10-year-old child artist Pearl, per the website.

Lilibet’s face was completely cropped out of the adorable shot as to protect her privacy from Markle’s 4.6 million followers.

Meghan’s personal connection to Beyoncé goes back to 2019, when the famous women first met face-to-face at the premiere of Disney’s live-action Lion King adaptation.

At the time, Elle reported that the Duchess of Sussex was ‘nervous’ to be meeting one of her idols, and Billy Eichner, who costarred with Beyoncé in the film, also revealed that the hitmaker had her own case of nerves before they met.

Jay-Z could also be seen saying ‘congrats’ while his wife said ‘baby, so beautiful’.

Harry kissed Beyoncé on both cheeks and appeared to say that the singer and Jay-Z were a busy pair. Beyoncé answered: ‘A little bit. No more busy than you guys.’

Beyoncé also reportedly calling Meghan ‘my princess’, and Harry spoke with Disney boss Bob Iger and appeared to ask him if there were any voiceover roles for Meghan.

‘You know she does voiceovers,’ Harry could be heard saying in a video, as Mr Iger replied: ‘Oh, really?’ Harry then said: ‘Did you know that? You seem surprised.’

Gesturing towards Meghan, who was speaking with Beyoncé, the Duke can be heard saying: ‘She’s really interested.’ Mr Iger replies: ‘Sure, we’d love to try.’

Billy Eichner, who voiced meerkat Timon in the animated film, later said of Beyoncé: ‘That was the first time she met Meghan Markle. And that was a big moment.’

That meeting followed Beyoncé accepting a Brit Award in February 2019 with Jay-Z in front of a portrait showing the Duchess as a royal version of the Mona Lisa.

In a post explaining why they had decided to put Meghan in the frame, Beyoncé and Jay-Z wrote: ‘In honour of Black History Month, we bow down to one of our Melanated Monas. Congrats on your pregnancy! We wish you so much joy.’

Beyoncé also praised Meghan after the Sussexes’ bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, during which the Duchess claimed to have encountered racism within the Royal Family.

Beyoncé posted on her website: ‘Thank you Meghan for your courage and leadership. We are all strengthened and inspired by you.’

And in one episode of their Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan released in December 2022, Meghan claimed to have received a supportive text from Beyoncé.

She told the camera crew: ‘Beyoncé just texted, just checking in… I still can’t believe she knows who I am… She said she wants me to feel safe and protected.

‘She admires and respects my bravery and vulnerability and thinks I was selected to break generational curses that need to be healed.’

The Sussexes stepped down as senior royals and moved to the US in 2020 – and in September 2023, they watched Beyoncé on her Renaissance tour in California.