The big-budget thriller, Citadel has captivated audiences on streaming platform Amazon Prime. The Indian actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas, a friend and vocal advocate of Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, takes on a leading role in the series and its new episode appears to make a s*xual jibe about the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton. In the five-part spy action series, Priyanka, 41, plays the leading lady, an elite espionage agent named Nadia Sinh.
The episode, which took a jibe at Kate Middleton is the 3rd and in it, Priyanka got involved in a scene with Balduino Basto, a notorious crime boss, portrayed by Sen Monro.
Guided by Nadia’s instructions, Mason Kane, portrayed by Richard Madden, ventures into the dangerous realm of Basto’s domain. And during this tense sequence, Nadia maintains a discreet line of communication with Mason, speaking to him in his ear. Basto was then asked for assistance to help break into the armed forces chief’s office.
It prompted Basto to say: ‘The chief of armed forces? You might as well have asked me how to get between the legs of the Duchess of Cambridge!’
This comes after a critic observed a jibe against the Princess of Wales in the new live-action remake of the Disney movie The Little Mermaid, which Meghan previously said had parallels with her time in the royal family. The critic highlighted the scene where Ariel and Prince Eric encounter each other after she gives up her voice to venture to the surface and Prince Eric undertakes the challenge of guessing her name.
The critic told PageSix, ‘His first guess is Diana. His second guess is Catherine, but after [Ariel gives a disgusted] reaction, he [concludes] ”OK, definitely not Catherine.” They continued: ‘Disney would be disingenuous to imply those name choices were coincidental.’ Diana is the name of Prince Harry’s late mother, who passed away in August 1997. As for Harry’s sister-in-law, she is known as Kate, but her official name is Catherine, and she holds the title of the Princess of Wales.
However, Priyanka and the Duchess of Sussex, both 41 years old, became friends when they met at an Elle magazine event back in 2016, and shortly after, Meghan interviewed for her The Tig, which no longer exists.
The duo is often spotted enjoying each other’s company, including an outing to New York’s Broadway, where they attended a performance of the musical Hamilton. In July 2021, at a Wimbledon event, Priyanka found herself center stage due to her lack thereof, with Kate and her husband, Prince William. As the royal couple entered the Royal Box to applause, a video surfaced showing the actress seemingly preoccupied with adjusting her scarf, appearing to disregard their presence.
Subsequent photographs captured moments when Priyanka seemed to deliberately avert her gaze while the royal couple mingled with VIPs on the Centre Court balcony after the Women’s Singles Final.
Speculation arose among royal observers, suggesting that this behavior could be interpreted as a snub, potentially connected to Meghan’s remarks about Kate during her interview with Oprah Winfrey. While it remains possible that Priyanka might not have noticed the couple’s arrival in the Royal Box or was unaware of the customary applause, some devoted royal fans argued her decision not to clap could have been a deliberate gesture, hinting at an intentional act.
In 2018, Priyanka had written an open letter about her friend before the royal wedding in 2018, around the time Meghan made it onto the TIME 100 list.
She said: ‘More than anything else, Meghan is an important influencer in a world that needs strong public figures to respect and look up to. People the world can be inspired by. Meghan, standing shoulder to shoulder with Harry, will be a princess for the people.’ The Bollywood actress, who boasts of a three-year friendship with Meghan had also insisted that Meghan has been heavily scrutinized due to her mixed heritage, and her ‘progressive, modern’ friend can ‘handle’ the criticism.
On Meghan facing criticism from the media, the UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador told the Sunday Times in 2019: ‘I’ve seen that and it’s really unfortunate. But if there’s anyone who can handle it, it’s her. Of course, it has to do with racism, it’s an obvious reason. But 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 and she’s the same chick.’
Priyanka further revealed she and Meghan connected through their similarities in how they ‘see the world and as girls’, which echoed Meghan’s earlier comments on their friendship.
In an interview with Press Trust Of India in 2016, Meghan gushed over how she and Priyanka ‘just clicked’, stating, ‘It was just an easy, natural progression. We’ve managed to keep in touch via email and text, and try to see each other whenever we’re both in the same town.’ However, the friends were hit with claims of a feud in 2019 after the Miss World 2000 winner failed to attend Meghan’s baby shower. The actress was said to be angry with the Los Angeles native as she didn’t attend her wedding to Nick Jonas.
But in her interview on Watch What Happens Live, Priyanka laughed off the fight rumors with Meghan, insisting it was simply ‘not true’.
On the other hand, Meghan has openly acknowledged the parallels she sees between her experiences as a working member of the royal family after marrying Prince Harry and the narrative portrayed in The Little Mermaid. In her interview with Oprah in 2021, she revealed she found solace in watching the beloved 1989 animated film during the challenging period she faced in the UK after her wedding in 2018.
I was sitting in Nottingham Cottage and The Little Mermaid came on,’ Meghan said, ‘And who as an adult really watches The Little Mermaid but it came on and I was like, “Well I’m here all the time. I might as well watch this. And I went, ”Oh my God, she falls in love with the prince and because of that she loses her voice. But in the end, she gets her voice back.’. Oprah at the time said: ‘And this is what happened here. You feel like you got your voice back,’ to which Meghan replied: ‘Yeah.’
