How Meghan kept up with the Kardashians: Duchess ran a lengthy campaign to win over America’s most famous family… but just as she succeeded, a row over photos threatens to derail their friendship

It’s no secret that Meghan Markle is dying to keep up with the Kardashians.

From Instagram posts to gifting jam jars and even using the same bodyguards and hairstylists, the Duchess of Sussex has made plenty of connections to the famous clan over the years with the help of her husband Prince Harry.

In August 2023, Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland, 69, unexpectedly crossed paths with Kris Jenner and her daughter Kim Kardashian, 45, at a charity event in Los Angeles.

The Duchess, 44, had already made one of her first connections to the Kardashian-Jenner family three months ago when she reportedly hired Kim’s former bodyguard.

Then in March 2024, Harry, 41, went on a ski trip with Kris’ boyfriend Corey Gamble, and a month later, Meghan sent the mom a special first taste of her fruit preserves. This summer, she sent more gifts to her household from the lifestyle brand.

And the Sussexes’ efforts paid off after Harry and Meghan attended Kris’ star-studded 70th birthday bash at Jeff Bezos’ $165 million Beverly Hills mansion over the weekend.

But the connections forged between the two families may be on the verge of collapse amid the storm over deleted photos of Meghan and Harry at the party that allegedly left the Kardashians stunned.

All the candid photos of the Duke and Duchess getting close to the birthday girl and Harry advancing on her on the dance floor Kris and Kim’s Instagram posts have been mysteriously deleted.

People Magazine, the Sussexes’ preferred US publication, claimed that Meghan and Harry did not want any photos of them to be published at the James Bond-themed party.

The publication also claimed it understood the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had ticked the ‘no’ box on the photo consent form, which led to their party images being removed from Instagram.

“Kim said: ‘You were already out drunk and photographed at the Baby2Baby event the same night as Meghan Trainor and Paris Hilton, so what’s the problem?'” the source said, adding: “Kim was pissed.”

A source close to Kim denied this.

Claims that guests had to sign consent forms were also denied, with a source telling the Daily Mail that “there were no consent forms”; This led to renewed speculation about why the photos were lost.

Kris’ Instagram recap of the after-party showed a series of photos of her alongside Meghan and Harry. Daughter Kim shared a photo of herself posing with the Duchess. However, these were later reportedly deleted due to the Sussexes’ consent form.

Although the images have been deleted, photos of Harry and Meghan are shared on social media and published on many websites in the USA.

The first hint of a connection between Meghan and the Kardashians emerged in 2023, when Harry and Meghan attended the surprise vow renewal ceremony between Ellen DeGeneres and her wife, Portia De Rossi.

Kris Jenner, Doria Ragland and Kim Kardashian attend This Is About Humanity fifth anniversary event

The ceremony was held at the host’s $70 million Montecito mansion and was officiated by none other than Kris.

Meghan further pursued her Kardashian connections when she was spotted at Beyoncé concerts in Los Angeles in the summer of that year.

The Duchess, who attended two Los Angeles dates on the singer’s Renaissance tour, was photographed partying in a private box, where she rubbed shoulders with VIPs including Amazon billionaire Jeff Bezos and Kris.

Meanwhile, it was reported in May that the Duchess had hired Kim’s former bodyguard after the American reality star was spotted with his old abs.

The duo had used the same hairdresser before; Michael Silva had previously proudly shared the results of his study on both women on Instagram.

According to People, Michael was behind Kim’s 2017 Met Gala look and worked with Meghan while she was still on the TV show Suits.

Later, in August 2023, Meghan’s mother Doria was spotted speaking to ‘momager’ Kris and daughter Kim at the fifth annual This Is About Humanity party in Los Angeles.

This Is Humanity works to raise awareness about separated and reunited families and children at the border.

Kris Jenner shared a photo of the wine Meghan sent her, not forgetting to tag the Duchess and her brand As Ever

Kardashian matriarch Kris confirmed the Duchess’s Kardashian connections by posting a photo of Meghan’s jam on Instagram

The trio hugged and smiled as they posed for photos, looking very pale as they approached each other.

In another sign that the Sussexes are getting closer to the Kardashian-Jenners, Prince Harry was spotted skiing with Kris’ boyfriend Corey Gamble.

Duke In March 2024, accompanied by business executive Corey Gamble, he was apparently basking in the glamor of America’s most glamorous ski resort, Aspen, in Colorado.

A source said that in addition to Gamble, Harry hit the slopes with Bumble dating app billionaire Whitney Wolfe and her husband Michael Herd, whom he met on a previous ski trip. But there was no sign of Meghan on the runways.

A month later, Kris proudly showed off a jar of the lifestyle brand’s Meghan jams on Instagram, and it wouldn’t be the last gift the reality TV star received from the Duchess.

The Kardashian matriarch shared a photo on her Stories of a gift the Duchess sent in August 2025: bottles of the 2024 Napa Valley Rosé wine from the As Ever series.

As well as sharing the photo of the wine on social media, Kris said ‘thank you’ by tagging both Meghan’s and As Ever’s Instagram accounts.

The duchess also sent Khloe Kardashian a luxury basket from her own brand. bottles of wine, preserves and various vegetables.

Meghan also appears to have close ties to model Chrissy Teigen, who runs the cooking empire Cravings and is also close friends with the Kardashians; Here’s a photo of him with Kim in 2015.

But when Khloe shared photos from sister Kylie Jenner’s 28th birthday party over the weekend, including a picture of a basket, she apparently forgot to tag Meghan in the post.

That didn’t stop the former senior royal from happily reposting the photo, captioning the post: ‘Hey hey, all my girls with K’, but fans called out the famous family’s failure to accept Meghan.

Meanwhile, Meghan and Kim also have many mutual friends, including Chrissy Teigen, Paris Hilton and Prince Harry’s ‘father figure’ and pal David Foster, who was previously married to Caitlyn Jenner’s ex-wife Linda Thompson.

In addition to sharing the same acquaintances, Meghan and Kim also share many fashion opinions and have been photographed stepping out in similar outfits over the years.

Elsewhere, experts have suggested Meghan could be preparing to launch a Kardashian-style ‘megabrand’ after she was seen cozying up to the British Dragon’s Den star, who designed Kim’s hugely popular Skims range.

Multimillionaire Emma Grede, who is also the driving force behind Khloe’s successful Good American denim brand, recently shared a series of posts at a vegan banquet in Los Angeles, where the Duchess was the “star guest,” celebrating women “owning their power” and helping “each other get it done.”

“Not my typical Wednesday after work,” Ms. Grede joked in her post, before showing behind-the-scenes footage of the night as Meghan poured the 2024 ‘As Usual’ Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc throughout the evening.

Previous Instagram posts from Ms Grede, who currently appears as a guest dragon on the BBC’s Dragon’s Den, show Meghan carefully positioned on her right side as the pair share a joke and then pose side by side in ‘power outfits’.

He said: ‘This dinner series is about making that energy our own. It’s about women coming together to openly share, exchange resources, and help each other get things done.

‘Because when women choose to collaborate, advocate for each other, and talk honestly about the beautiful and difficult parts, we don’t just change our own stories. We are changing what is possible for every woman who follows.

‘There are more seats here, more voices and more women leading, building and owning their own power.’

PR experts have suggested Ms Grede’s posts may be the biggest indication yet that the Duchess is ready to launch a new venture.

Rumors of a potential new job for the duchess spread after she recently posted two clips on Instagram showing her applying lipstick, with brand names obscured.

At the time, industry sources said this was a ‘telling sign’ that it might be gearing up to introduce its own product range.

One told The Mail on Sunday: ‘In the Instagram reel, the make-up lined up on the dressing table was unbranded or had brand labels obscured, which seems intentional.

‘This is a sign that Meghan has something on the way. The fact that he doesn’t want to promote or reveal another brand is a big clue that he’s getting ready to introduce his own product line eventually; This is a sign for those inside the industry.’