Tyler Perry sends Duchess of Sussex 41st birthday greetings: ‘Happy Birthday Princess Meghan’

‘I’ve had a front row seat in your life for the past few years,’ said the actor of Meghan Markle

Filmmaker Tyler Perry has posted an Instagram tribute to the Duchess of Sussex to mark her 41st birthday.

On Friday (5 August), one day after Meghan’s actual birthday, the actor and director posted a lengthy message congratulating his friend on everything he’s watched her “endure” and celebrating “how happy” she is now.

Meghan’s friendship with Perry became the subject of news coverage when, in 2020, he allowed Markle and Prince Harry to stay in his Hollywood mansion when they moved from Canada to the US.

In a 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, also known to be a friend of Perry’s, Meghan explained the couple’s hasty decision to leave Canada, where the location of their home had been revealed to the public.

"We needed a house and he offered his security as well, so it gave us breathing room to try to figure out what we were going to do”, Meghan said of Perry.

In his birthday message, the Diary of a Mad Black Woman director alluded to the difficult circumstances that surrounded Meghan’s return to the US after she and Harry gave up official duties as part of the royal family.

“I’ve had a front row seat in your life for the past few years. I’ve watched you endure things that would have broken a lot of people,” wrote Perry, alongside a 2019 photo of the Duchess taken during a tour in South Africa. In the picture, Meghan can be seen kissing a young girl on the hand.

Tyler Perry on Instagram (Instagram (Tyler Perry))

The message continues: “I’m so incredibly proud to see how happy you, your husband, and your kids are now. It fills me with joy to say Happy Birthday Princess Meghan.”

Others to publicly wish Meghan – who now lives in Montecito, California – a happy birthday include the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall.