American music superstar Beyoncé has thrown her support behind good friend Meghan Markle, the wife of Prince Harry, as the couple continues to deal with backlash from their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey which aired last Sunday (March 7).

A statement on Beyonce’s Beygood website read: “Thank you Meghan for your courage and leadership. We are all strengthened and inspired by you.”

This is not the first time that Beyoncé, and her husband, Jay-Z, have shown support for Markle and the prince during struggles with the royal institution.

In 2019, a year into their marriage, Harry and Meghan were receiving backlash from UK tabloids.

In an effort to defend the newlyweds, Beyoncé and Jay-Z appeared in a video alongside a painting of Markle during their acceptance speech for best international group (for The Carters) at the Brit Awards in London.

After releasing the video, the UK tabloids deemed the move a political stunt, suggesting that Beyoncé and Jay-Z’s response was an effort to show support for Markle as Duchess of Sussex, after receiving hostile attention from the British press.

The Carters are among a number of prominent friends of Markle who have been publicly supporting her as she continues to face backlash on social media and from the UK press.

Tennis great Serena Williams was also among her first public defenders.

Williams took to Instagram with a statement commending Markle’s strength in handling the ‘pain and cruelty’ she had to endure.

Amanda Gorman, the young American poet who became world famous for her reading at US President Joe Biden’s inauguration, took to Twitter to share to her 1.5 million followers that “Meghan was living the life Diana should have, if only those around her had been as brave as she was”.

Diana was Prince Harry’s mother who had her own issues with the Royal Family before dying in a car crash more than two decades ago.

Gorman continued: “Meghan isn’t living a life without pain, but a life without prison. This isn’t Meghan’s princess ‘happy’ ending. But sometimes change, the decisions that bring us the most hurt, aren’t about happiness but healing.”