The Scoop: Meghan and Harry — out with the old (friends), in with the new

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(NewsNation) — Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are officially no longer royal… and that’s not the only change in their lives as insiders say they are also no longer friends with many of the people who attended their wedding.

On Wednesday, the royal family in England officially scrubbed their website of all “His Royal Highness” mentions from their website. But titles aren’t the only thing being scrubbed from their lives.

In May 2018, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, commonly known and Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, held the world rapt with their star-studded wedding at St. George’s Chapel in London. Celebrity friends making an appearance included George and Amal Clooney, Victoria and David Beckham, Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King, the daughter-in-law of Canada’s former Prime Minister, Jessica Mulroney and Serena Williams.

But five years later, friends, celebrity or otherwise, seemed to have either drifted to the wayside or cut off contact with the couple altogether. And much of it has to do with taking sides between Harry and the royals after “Megxit.”

George and Amal Clooney, who hadn’t been seen hanging out with Markle before her wedding, were reportedly asked by Princess Diana’s former roommate Carolyn Bartholomew how they knew the couple, to which Clooney answered, “We don’t!” While Amal flew Markle to New York City for Markle’s baby shower, the two haven’t been seen together since. The Clooneys who live in London are “much more closer with King Charles,” a source told me.

Markle cut off her former best friend and bridesmaid, Jessica Mulroney in 2020, despite being inseparable for years, after Mulroney got into a racially charged war of words with an influencer and was accused of “very problematic behavior and antics” within the fashion community.

Meanwhile, Oprah Winfrey and her best friend Gayle King stuck around a bit longer — at least until March 2021 when  Oprah scored the big interview with Harry and Meghan in which they alluded to racism in the royal family and Markle claimed she was suicidal.

But since then, Oprah has kept her distance and Meghan was not at the queen of TV’s January birthday party in Beverly Hills. One royal expert, Christopher Anderson, tried to explain the absence by saying, “Appearing at such a glitzy, high-profile event with Hollywood A-listers to honor Oprah is not what the Sussexes need right now. That would certainly rub King Charles the wrong way, not to mention an already hostile British public.” However, that explanation doesn’t quite fly as the Sussexes weren’t shy about attending Ellen Degeneres and Portia DeRossi’s vow renewal a week later.

The Sussexes have also ended their friendship with Victoria and David Beckham after ludicrous claims surfaced that the Beckhams had leaked stories to the press about them. The Beckhams, who didn’t invite Harry and Meghan to their son Brooklyn’s wedding to Nicola Peltz last April, are said to be “incandescent with rage,” but are also very close with Prince William and Kate.

But eyebrows were raised even further last week when Markle was a no-show at former friend Serena Williams’ baby shower… especially as Williams had hosted Markle’s extravagant baby shower at the Mark Hotel in New York City in December 2022.

To be fair, Williams and Markle aren’t in close proximity — Williams spends much of her time in Miami while Markle is in Montecito, but that had never hampered their friendship in the past.

A source close to the situation confirmed to me, “Let’s just say (Serena and Meghan) are not as close as they used to be.”

Another source said, “A lot of people have shaken out and prefer to be Team Royal. They’re just closer to Prince Charles, Kate and William.”

Harry and Meghan don’t seem to mind much as they moved on with a new group of friends including polo player Nacho Figueras, make-up entrepreneur Victoria Jackson and John Travolta