The Hollywood rumor mill and the gossip grapevine surrounding the British royals are each intense in their own right, so when they overlap, it tends to really get people talking. Recently, at the Wimbledon Championships, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Prince William, and Duchess Catherine all sat in the same section, and photos and videos captured at the event have people speculating that Chopra, a longtime friend of Duchess Meghan, may have been sending a subtle message to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. To see the photos in question of Priyanka Chopra, William, and Kate for yourself, read on.
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People think Priyanka Chopra snubbed William and Kate when they took their seats at Wimbledon.
On July 10, Chopra and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended Wimbledon, and all sat in the Royal Box. A recently emerged clip, obtained by the Daily Mail, features the royals' entrance and seems to show that Chopra fixed her scarf and opted out of the audience applause as William and Kate arrived.
A series of photos from the event seemed to show Chopra chatting with other members of the audience, but never the duke and duchess. Other photos also obtained by the Daily Mail show the two women standing side-by-side after the tennis match, but apparently ignoring each other.
People believe Chopra didn't applaud out of her solidarity to Meghan Markle.
Getty Images/Karwai Tang/WireImageAfter the video made the rounds, people on Twitter started speculating that Chopra purposefully didn't applaud the future king and queen because of what Markle shared about them during her interview with Oprah Winfrey. In the interview, Markle revealed the struggles she faced when joining the Royal Family, alleging that Kate made her cry ahead of her 2018 wedding (the reverse a longstanding rumor), that the Palace refused to get Markle the mental health assistance she sought, and that an unnamed family member was concerned over the skin color of Markle and Prince Harry's future child, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.
Royals watchers have been hypothesizing that Chopra didn't clap for the duke and duchess in support of her friend Markle. It's worth noting, however, that many others in the section did not clap when William and Kate sat down, including tennis great Billie Jean King, who sat in the row between Chopra and the Cambridges with her partner Ilana Kloss.
Best Life has reached out to Chopra's publicist for a comment, but did not immediately hear back.
Chopra and Markle became friends in 2016.
Chopra and Markle have been friends since before Markle married into the Royal Family. In 2016, she shared a photo from the day that she and Markle met at an Elle Women in Television event. A few months later, Markle told the Indian Express, "Priyanka is unbelievable. She’s become a really good friend." Chopra attended the royal wedding in 2018 and has stood up for Markle in interviews over the years.
In 2017, when Wendy Williams referred to Markle as "Prince Harry's girlfriend," she interjected to add "also Meghan Markle—actress, Suits, her achievements."
When asked by The Times in 2019 about Markle's negative experience with the press, Chopra said, "It’s really unfortunate, but if there’s anyone who can handle it, it’s her." She added, "The beauty of Meg is that she’s been herself through all of this. A lot of people got to know her after everything, but I knew her before [she started dating Harry], and she’s the same chick. Now she’s got a real platform. She talks about the same things she always did."
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Chopra said Markle was always destined for big things.
Doug Peters / Alamy Stock PhotoDuring a 2019 interview with Elle, Chopra made it clear that she wasn't surprised her friend went on to make a splash. "Megs...she was always meant for big things," Chopra said. "To be a change and be an important voice in doing that. It’s amazing that she found that calling and has the platform to be able to do it."
She also added that she felt fate played a role in helping the Duchess of Sussex end up where she was at that point, prior to stepping down as a senior royal. "I’m a big believer in taking charge of your life, but there’s got to be something bigger that puts us into the circumstances that we are put in," Chopra said at the time. "Destiny has a weird way of helping you to find your calling."
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