Just like Bey says, when the queens come through, part like the red sea! And it looks like new friends Kelly Rowland and Meghan Markle had plenty of room to connect during their first encounter at a very high-profile concert tour. Yes, the dynamic duo reportedly met through their mutual friend Beyoncé and had their first hangout session at the music superstar's Renaissance World Tour live gig on Monday, September 4 at the Sofi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Rowland—who has showed publicly up in support of her former Destiny's Child bandmate and lifelong BFF throughout the Renaissance run, despite previously admitting that she was once jealous of Beyoncé's career—discussed meeting Markle for the first time with HELLO! Magazine and revealed how impressed she was by the Duchess of Sussex:
It was my first time meeting her. It was just nice being there with other great women and being able to just simply talk. … I don't know what people expect to see or to know, but she just felt very cool and very down to earth. She is very warm.
Rowland and Markle took in the spectacular show (which was actually Bey's final California date, as well as her big birthday celebration) in one of the stadium's VIP sections, along with some famous seatmates like Scandal star Kerry Washington. Stars like Mariah Carey, Angelina Jolie, Timothée Chalamet, Viola Davis, Adele, Justin Bieber, Zendaya and Tom Holland were also spotted in the audience during the star-studded birthday gig.
It was the royal's second time seeing Beyoncé in concert during the Renaissance tour, having attended a show at the same stadium just a few nights earlier, on Friday, September 1, with her famous husband, Prince Harry. In both appearances, Markle spiritedly sported the unofficial dress code of the tour, which was all things silver and shiny. She wore a metallic silver skirt during her appearance with Rowland, the latter of whom was also done up with sparkly face jewels and gems.
In HELLO!, Rowland said of her new friend, who married into British royalty back in 2018:
She was royal before she was in that family. I think that we are royalty before anything. And we have to hold ourselves in that regard as humans, as people.
It's surprising that the Duchess and the Destiny's Child crooner haven't crossed paths before given how close Meghan Markle and Beyoncé Knowles have become over the years. The two stars first met at the 2019 London premiere of The Lion King remake starring the singer, and they have publicly supported each other ever since.
In March 2021, after that headline-grabbing Oprah with Meghan and Harry primetime special, the music icon posted a message of support on her website:
Thank you Meghan for your courage and leadership. We are all strengthened and inspired by you.
A few months later, in August 2021, Beyoncé posted another website tribute to Markle in honor of her 40th birthday, complete with a sweet childhood photo of the Duchess.
Bey even made a little off-camera cameo during the Harry & Meghan Netflix docuseries that aired in December 2022. Markle can be seen receiving a text message from Knowles, a friendly "Just checking in." She paraphrased the rest of the text for her hubby as well as the audience:
She said she wants me to feel safe and protected. She admires and respects my bravery and vulnerability and thinks I was selected to break generational curses that need to be healed.
It's clearly a lovefest between the pair, and it's good to see Kelly Rowland has joined the regal friend group now too!
