Meghan Markle and Prince Harry appeared to be the best of friends with Michael Buble at a glittering gala dinner in Canada last week.
But what the Duchess of Sussex, 42, may prefer to overlook is that she owes her friendship with the singer to her former BFF Jessica Mulroney.
Meghan and Michael met over dinner hosted by the stylist and her husband Ben in November 2015 – five years before the women are said to have drifted apart.
Last week, Meghan was filmed bursting into laughter as the Canadian singer, 48, sang an alternative version of Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ dedicated to Prince Harry in Vancouver.
The royal couple were also seen leaving the event – which wrapped up the preparation for the 2025 Winter Invictus Games – with the singer and his model wife Luisana Lopilato.
Pictured: Meghan Markle burst into laughter as Michael Buble sang an altered version of Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ in Vancouver last week
Before marrying into the Royal Family in 2018, Meghan featured Michael Buble on her defunct blog The Tig and gushed that he is a ‘delightful guy’ and ‘one hell of a dinner companion’.
At the time of their first meeting, Meghan was starring as paralegal Rachel Zane in the hit legal drama Suits.
In 2015, Jessica – whose three children acted as pageboys and flowergirl at Meghan and Harry’s wedding – posted a photo of her ‘solid dinner crew’.
In the image, Meghan is seen sitting opposite Jessica and next to the stylist’s husband Ben, who is the son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney.
Meanwhile, Michael Buble is pictured sitting at the head of the table during the dinner, which was celebrating his induction on Canada’s Walk of Fame.
The following year, Meghan featured a playlist Michael had created on her lifestyle blog, The Tig.
The Duchess wrote of the father-of-four: ‘This proud papa, husband to the lovely Luisana Lopilato, and certifiably delightful guy, makes for one hell of a dinner companion.
‘But there’s this other thing about him that is perhaps worth mentioning. Oh right. He sings.’
In 2015, Jessica posted a photo of her ‘solid dinner crew’. Michael Buble is pictured at the head of the table while Meghan sits next to Brian Mulroney
Meghan Markle and Jessica Mulroney pictured at an Instagram event in Toronto in May 2016, when the Duchess was still starring in Suits
Michael shared some of his favourite Christmas classics, including Bing Crosby’s I’ll Be Home For Christmas, Jingle Bells and White Christmas.
He also admitted he ‘had to add one of my own’, Cold December Night, before joking ‘Please download it 200,000 times.’
What’s more, it appears that Michael Buble also owes the Mulroney family for his big break.
The Haven’t Met You Yet singer is said to have been invited to perform at the wedding of Ben Mulroney’s sister after impressing one of the prime minister’s aides.
Songwriter and producer David Foster – who was one of the guests – was so impressed by Buble’s performance that he later arranged a meeting for Michael with Warner Bros.
David Foster – who is married to Meghan’s middle school peer Katharine McPhee – has also proven to be an important contact for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex after he set up the couple’s Canadian hideaway following Megxit.
Meghan Markle and her estranged BFF Jessica Mulroney pictured in 2016, when the Duchess was still living in Canada
Jessica Mulroney pictured with her daughter Isabel – who was a flowergirl – arriving at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s Windsor wedding in 2018
David Foster was also present at Jessica Mulroney’s father-in-law’s birthday party in 2019 – where he performed alongside Michael Buble.
In March 2019, Jessica arranged a special private performance by Michael Bublé to celebrate her father-in-law’s 80th birthday.
Sharing an Instagram video of Bublé performing Mr Mulroney’s favourite Elvis song, Can’t Help Falling In Love, proud daughter-in-law Jessica wrote: ‘We didn’t know what to get my father in law for his birthday, so we thought @michaelbuble singing his favorite Elvis song with @davidfoster might do the trick.
‘When it comes to In Laws, I won the lottery. Happy Birthday MBM.’
Bublé performed the number with fellow Canadian musician David Foster. He was later joined by a band for classics including Mack The Knife.
Meghan and Jessica were inseparable from the moment they met on the set of TV show Suits and the stylist reportedly played an ‘influential’ role in Megxit.
Stylist Jessica, 39, is married to TV presenter Ben Mulroney, 42, the son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. The couple celebrated Brian Mulroney’s 80th birthday with a party in Palm Beach, Florida, over the weekend. Pictured, in a selfie ahead of the bash
Brian Mulroney, who was Canadian Prime Minister between 1984 and 1993, celebrated his 80th birthday in 2019. Pictured, speaking at the State Funeral of George H.W. Bush in December 2019
However, it appears as though they became distant in 2020 when the style guru was called out by lifestyle blogger Sasha Exeter for comments she made regarding ‘white privilege’ while the pair had a conversation about the Black Lives Matters movement.
Although Jessica denied being a racist, Sasha, claimed the stylist left her ‘paralyzed with fear’.
Following the blogger’s claims, Jessica issued three public apologies, however she still faced consequences and was dropped by numerous television networks.
DailyMail.com exclusively revealed that ABC severed ties with her, confirming that Jessica would not be returning to her occasional role as a fashion contributor on Good Morning America.
Canadian TV network CTV also cut off ties with the stylist, revealing that it would be pulling all episodes of her wedding-themed reality TV show I Do Redo from its platform.
In December 2023, Jessica posted another cryptic message on her Instagram story which hit out at people who ‘believe lies’ about others – three years after her close friendship with the Duchess cooled.
The video suggested there are two sides to every story, suggesting there are some people who choose not to listen to both sides because they are likely searching for reasons to be against someone.
The woman in the clip, who does not appear to have any connection to Jessica, said: ‘Anybody who believes lies about you, before even hearing your side of the story, was already looking for a way to be against you, do I need to say that one more time?’
