Meghan Markle and Diana Share an Unexpected Connection — Which Also Includes Princess Lilibet

Meghan Markle and Princess Diana share similarities in their attitude of independence. Despite never having met, Markle and the late Princess of Wales have a connection: they attended the same institution. Diana's 1996 visit to Northwestern University had a profound influence, and the Duchess of Sussex attended the campus almost years later from 1999 to 2003. As per People, the 'People's Princess' mingled with students and visited a nearby hospital during her five days at the university and the Chicago area. According to North by Northwestern, Diana was President of London's Royal Marsden Hospital and its Cancer Fund at the time, therefore the official reason for her visit was to raise money for the University's Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center.

At a fundraising dinner, Diana dazzled students and professors by showing up in a stunning purple gown that matched the university's official color. “I asked if she knew that purple was the color of Northwestern because it could just simply be the royal color, and she just laughed,” former Northwestern president Henry Bienen said. “I think she did it on purpose.”’ A few months later, Diana was seen sporting a hoodie bearing the university's insignia, suggesting that she had a good time during her trip after raising about $1 million for the charity cause. 

Ironically, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, Princess Diana's granddaughter, was born on June 4, 2021, which also happened to be the exact date the late Princess of Wales visited the university. In the birth announcement, Prince Harry and Markle disclosed that their daughter Lili's second name which meant 'divine' in Latin was chosen "to honor her beloved late grandmother." As per CNN, the ex-royal couple made it a point to honor Princess Diana's legacy on the day of their magnificent wedding ceremony. Diana's favorite flowers, white forget-me-nots, were featured in the bride's bouquet, and Lady Jane Fellowes, the late princess' sister, gave the first lay speech. The ceremony was also attended by her other siblings. 

The Duchess of Sussex donned a diamond tennis bracelet that had belonged to her late mother-in-law during the couple's candid chat with Oprah Winfrey. Harry told Winfrey that their decision to distance themselves from the royal family would have pained his mother. “I think she would feel very angry with how this has panned out, and very sad. But ultimately, all she’d ever want is for us to be happy,” he said, adding that he “felt her presence throughout this whole process.” 

Meanwhile, in a new book titled Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War between the Windsors written by author Tom Bower it is claimed that Earl Spencer and Diana's sisters, Lady Sarah McCorquodale and Baroness Jane Fellowes, thought Markle was not a good fit for the royal family and she had nothing in common with Diana. As per the UK Mirror, Bower wrote, "Harry assumed that Diana's family and friends would see a similarity between Diana and his fiancee. Both, he said, shared the same problems. He was disappointed. No one agreed that his vulnerable mother had anything in common with his girlfriend. More discomforting for him, they thought Meghan would not fit in with the Royal Family."