Meghan Markle has shared an unseen throwback snap of herself as a fresh-faced student in 1999.
Her old high school also shared the photo, alongside a gushing message congratulating Prince Harry’s wife on ‘the renewal of her Netflix series and launch of her new podcast’.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, was a pupil at the all-girls Roman Catholic Immaculate Heart High School in Los Angeles, graduating in 1999.
In the image, a smiling, teenaged Meghan is stood in front a statue of the Virgin Mary.
Wearing a white sundress with a beige cardigan, she has her hair loose beneath a thin, gold headband and is clapping her hands.
Sharing the photo to her Instagram account, Meghan said she had the ‘biggest smile on her face’, after being sent the image by a ‘dear friend’.
‘When your dear friend from middle school/high school sends you something from your Alma mater and it brings the biggest smile to your face. Go Pandas,’ she captioned the post, tagging her old school.
And appearing to give a nod to her friend, she added: ‘Thanks Sush xo.’
Her cheery post comes as her husband Prince Harry’s visa files were finally unveiled after a two-year court battle.
Meghan Markle has shared an unseen throwback snap of herself as a fresh-faced student in 1999
Claims that Prince Harry received special treatment when he emigrated to the United States are false, the Trump administration said on Tuesday.
A lawyer from the Department of Homeland Security said that Harry’s application followed all the ‘applicable rules and regulations’. However, despite a judge vowing to release as much material as possible, Harry’s actual immigration file has remained private.
The statement was made in heavily redacted documents that were made public on Tuesday after a lawsuit by the Heritage Foundation, a right-wing think tank, which was seeking to prove that Harry lied about his drug use on his visa papers.
Meanwhile, the post by her old school received 1,000 likes in less than three hours, and was captioned: ‘Congratulations to IH alumna Meghan Markle (’99) on the renewal of her Netflix series and launch of her new podcast!
‘We’re delighted to share a special throwback photo from her time at Immaculate Heart, honoring our cherished tradition of Mary’s Day, a reflection of our legacy of sisterhood, support, and Panda spirit.
‘As we begin preparations for this year’s Mary’s Day celebration, we proudly carry forward the traditions that make our school community so special!’
According to Immaculate Heart High School’s website, Mary’s Day sees the whole school come together to celebrate their ‘patron, Mary, with prayerful reflection, joyful performances, and a communal potluck lunch.’
Since graduating from high school in 1999, Meghan appears to have maintained a good relationship with Immaculate High.
Sharing the photo to her Instagram account, Meghan said she had the ‘biggest smile on her face’
The school’s congratulatory post comes after the first season of the duchess’s lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan
In 2020, the Duchess delivered a virtual graduation speech and reportedly spoke to students about the Black Lives Matter movement.
More recently, in 2022, she returned to her old school for her ‘Archetypes’ podcast – soon to be followed by a new interview show, ‘Confessions of a Female Founder’.
Fans of Meghan and former alumnae were quick to follow in the school’s footsteps and congratulate the duchess in the comments section.
One person wrote: ‘Congratulations Meghan. You deserve everything good in life.’
Another reminisced: ‘She was my senior sister when I was a freshman… her slogan for class president was “Sparkle with Markle”.’
While a third enthused: ‘Oh precious Meghan. Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex alwas gives a node about you. Congratulations Duchess Meghan.’
A fourth agreed: ‘Meghan has always been “That Girl”.’
The school’s congratulatory post comes after the first season of the duchess’s lifestyle series, With Love, Meghan, received disparaging reviews and failed to hit viewing targets.
Despite the first season’s poor reception and performance, Netflix has said a second one will follow in the autumn.
In With Love, Meghan, the former Suits actress gave hosting tips to and cooks with celebrity friends including The Office star Mindy Kaling.
The Duke of Sussex makes just one appearance at the end of the first season’s final episode when he joins Meghan, her mother Doria Ragland and friends for an outdoor celebratory brunch.
Prince Harry did not get special treatment when he emigrated to the United States, the Trump administration has claimed
A lawyer from the Department of Homeland Security said that Harry’s application followed all the ‘applicable rules and regulations’
The Duchess of Sussex is launching a new podcast called ‘Confessions Of A Female Founder’
Meghan said it ‘feels like a new chapter that I’m so excited that I get to share and I’ve been able to learn from all of you’, in what is likely to be seen as a nod to the restrictions she felt within the royal family.
She told People magazine that her children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, visited her on set, which she called ‘really special because up until then, they hadn’t seen me at work’, and spoke about her and Harry having a daily ‘nightcap recap’, where they discussed their day.
‘My husband met me when I had (the former lifestyle website) The Tig, and I see this spark in his eye when he sees me doing the thing that I was doing when he first met me,’ she said. ‘It’s almost like a honeymoon period again.’
The Duchess also last week launched her lifestyle brand As Ever, with her website revealing her first products: raspberry jam, and the flower sprinkles she promotes throughout the show.
The second season of With Love, Meghan is coming in the autumn, and has already finished filming, according to Netflix.
Viewers had been left baffled by some of Meghan’s tips and ticks, including ‘elevating’ foods by adding flower petals, transferring supermarket pretzels into a supermarket bag, as well as her unusual method of cooking spaghetti.
Meghan shared a number of recipes throughout the series, including for spaghetti, a honey and lemon cake and a cooked breakfast. She said her new show had helped her to ‘find herself’ again.
But despite her huge two-million-strong following on social media, she insisted she instead saw as a ‘female founder’ and ‘entrepreneur’ rather than an influencer.
Lemonada Media co-founders Jessica Cordova Kramer (left) and Stephanie Wittels Wachs
Since Harry and Meghan signed their $80million mega deal with Netflix in 2020, there has been one smash hit and three relative duds.
Meanwhile, the Duchess is also set to launch another podcast next month.
The Duchess of Sussex signed a deal with Lemonada Media in February 2024 after her Spotify contract ended in 2023 after one series of her first podcast Archetypes.
Now, her first project called ‘Confessions of a Female Founder’ with Lemonada has been confirmed and is set to feature conversations with businesswomen and friends talking about starting a company.
Lemonada described the show as inviting listeners ‘to be a fly on the wall as Meghan sits down for candid conversations with female founders and friends about the success, the struggles, and the never-before-told stories of building a business’.
A trailer will be released on March 25 with the first episode on April 8, and it comes after her new lifestyle show ‘With Love, Meghan’ premiered on Netflix on March 4.
Posting a photograph of the cover work for the new podcast on her Instagram account today, the Duchess said she was ‘so excited’ to share news of the podcast, describing the experience as ‘absolutely eye-opening, inspiring…and fun!’
Meghan said: ‘I’m so excited to share with you something else I’ve been working on: ‘Confessions Of A Female Founder,’ my new podcast with @lemonadamedia!
‘I’ve been having candid conversations with amazing women who have turned dreams into realities, and scaled small ideas into massively successful businesses.
‘They’re opening up, sharing their tips, tricks (and tumbles), and letting me pick their brains as I build out my own business, As Ever. It has been absolutely eye-opening, inspiring…and fun! (Because what’s the point if we can’t have some fun on this wild adventure?)’
Meghan’s Spotify contract ended in 2023 after one series of her first podcast Archetypes
The Duchess also told Deadline in a statement: ‘I’m so proud of what we’re creating, and the candid conversations that I’m able to have with other female founders as we unpack the twists and turns of building a business.
‘Through my friendships and relationships, we’re able to dive into the type of insights that everyone wants to know as they’re building a business, and that I’m able to tap into as I’m building my own business with As Ever.’
Jessica Cordova Kramer, Lemonada chief executive and co-founder, added: ‘As female founders ourselves, Steph and I are grateful to get a chance to build alongside Meghan the exact podcast we needed when we started Lemonada.’
Lemonada’s chief creative officer and co-founder, Stephanie Wittels Wachs, said: ‘Meghan is such a warm and welcoming person, and you feel that in her interviews.
‘She creates a comfortable space for her guests to bring fascinating personal stories to the table and open up in a way they likely haven’t before publicly. Listeners can expect conversations that are way more break room than boardroom.’
Lemonada also said: ‘As Meghan herself navigates the world of entrepreneurship with the upcoming launch of her brand As Ever, be inspired by the real, unfiltered stories and lessons learned from notable female founders-from knowing your worth, to trusting your gut, securing investors, and investing in yourself.’
It follows Meghan’s Archetypes podcast about female stereotypes which ran for just one series and was part of the Sussexes’ previous deal with Spotify which ended in 2023.
The second season of With Love, Meghan is coming in the autumn, and has already finished filming, according to Netflix.
Meghan signed the podcast deal with Lemonada Media in February last year after she and Prince Harry parted ways with Spotify.
It was announced at the time that she would host a new podcast series for the female-founded company and have Archetypes distributed to all platforms.
‘I’m proud to now be able to share that I am joining the brilliant team at Lemonada to continue my love of podcasting,’ Meghan said in a statement at the time.
Lemonada produces shows around sex, grief and LGBTQ issues to help ‘make life suck less’.
The company was launched in 2019 by co-founders Jessica Cordova Kramer and Stephanie Wittels Wachs who bonded after both losing their brothers to overdoses.
The pair now work with a host of celebrities from Sarah Silverman to Julia Louis-Dreyfus and have big backers including Stephanie Hannon, who served as chief technology officer for Hillary Clinton ‘s 2016 presidential campaign.
Wittels Wachs said in a 2022 interview that they realised ‘people are struggling and feeling really alone. The mission for Lemonada was born. Our desire to make the hard things easier’.
One of Lemonada’s most popular shows is Wiser Than Me with Julia Louis-Dreyfus, which spent 29 days in a row at the top of the Apple Podcast charts.
In the podcast she sits down with Jane Fonda, Carol Burnett, Amy Tan, Diane von Furstenberg, Isabel Allende and Fran Lebowitz ‘to get schooled in how to live a full and meaningful life’.
The Netflix show is being viewed as a make-or-break moment for the Duke and Duchess
Another podcast, BEING Trans, follows a group of transgender people navigating their daily lives. Also on Lemonada is Raised by Ricki which revisits the iconic 90s talk show, the Ricki Lake Show, hosted by Ricki herself.
Meanwhile Burnout, hosted by Connor Franta, looks at ‘how society reached a burning point and what we can do – really, actually do – to break the cycle.’
Before Lemonada, Cordova Kramer worked as a Wall Street lawyer and then Teach For America, while Wittels Wachs was working as a theatre director and writer.
The Duchess’s deal with Lemonada came a year after Meghan and Harry ended their $20million deal with Spotify, three years after it was signed.
Spotify and the Sussexes’s audio production company Archewell Audio released a joint statement saying they have ‘mutually agreed to part ways and are proud of the series we made together’.
A top Spotify podcast executive then called Harry and Meghan ‘f***ing grifters’ after they produced only one series for the company.
Archetypes, Meghan’s original Spotify show, had around one million listens per episode and debuted as Spotify’s No. 1 podcast in 47 countries around the world when it launched in August 2022.
The series explored the labels that try to hold women back and included guests such as Mariah Carey, Jameela Jamil and Pamela Adlon.
The series won a People’s Choice Award for The Pop Podcast of 2022 and Meghan won best entertainment podcast host at the Gracie Awards.
