Sophie Grégoire Trudeau, the former First Lady of Canada, recently made headlines when she distanced herself from Meghan Markle, whom she had previously described as a “dear friend.” During an interview with U.K. broadsheet The Times, Grégoire Trudeau’s response raised eyebrows and sparked curiosity.

Meghan Markle and Sophie Grégoire Trudeau were seemingly part of each other’s inner circles. In 2022, Markle appeared as a guest on Grégoire Trudeau’s Archetypes podcast, where they shared stories of laughter and bonding.

According to the book “Finding Freedom,” Meghan struck up a friendship with Sophie in 2016 after meeting her husband Justin, who had been serving as Canada’s prime minister since 2015, at the One Young World summit in Ottawa that year.

Authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand assert: “They quickly became close through email correspondence. Meghan was intrigued to learn how Sophie navigated her transition from an entertainment news correspondent to a beloved First Lady, adeptly avoiding controversy.”

In November 2022, Meghan extended an invitation to Ms. Trudeau to appear on her Spotify podcast, Archetypes, where they discussed the trials of parenting and supporting partners such as Justin and Harry.

However, when asked about Meghan Markle in an interview earlier this year, Grégoire Trudeau’s tone shifted. She acknowledged knowing Markle but emphasized that they hadn’t spent much time together. “I know her… but we haven’t spent much time together.”

With Kate Middleton’s struggle, Grégoire Trudeau expressed sympathy for Princess Kate following news of her March 2024 cancer diagnosis. She revealed, “My heart just sunk when I saw that was happening.”

It remains unclear why Grégoire Trudeau chose to emphasize her distance from Meghan rather than their past closeness. Perhaps the complexities of royal friendships are more intricate than they appear.