Meghan Markle gets Diana surprise from teary Drew Barrymore as she plugs Netflix show

Meghan Markle appeared on The Drew Barrymore Show today as part of a publicity blitz for her panned Netflix show – and the former child actress left Meghan taken aback with a nod to her late mother-in-law

Meghan Markle was left taken aback by an unexpected nod to Princess Diana as she appeared on Drew Barrymore’s chat show.

The Duchess of Sussex dropped into the show, hosted by former child actress Drew, as part of a publicity blitz for her Netflix show With Love, Meghan that landed just days ago. It has since been panned by critics.

During the show, Meghan did a segment where she showed Drew how to make thumbprint cookies. And during the demonstration, the duchess was caught off guard by an unexpected moment prompted by an emotional Drew.

As Meghan showed her baking technique, Drew presented her guest with a framed black and white picture of her as a little girl meeting Diana – Meghan’s late mother-in-law.

The picture was taken around the time Drew starred in the blockbuster movie E.T. and shows her presenting the late princess with a doll of the alien character.

Drew gushed: “It means so much to me to have met such an incredible human being that transcended everything. It was the honour of my life.” And an off-guard Meghan replied: “Oh, my gosh, look at your little face. Oh, that’s so sweet. That’s really special. I will tell H [Harry] that, for sure.”

Elsewhere in another telling moment from the interview, when Drew welcomed viewers, she told them she had been joined by Meghan Sussex – rather than Meghan Markle. It is believed to be the first time that Meghan has been introduced in public by her new surname.

The change in Meghan’s name first came to light in an interview published earlier this week in PEOPLE magazine. In her With Love, Meghan, the change is also mentioned in an episode featuring actress Mindy Kaling.

As the pair discuss fast food in the second episode, Mindy says: “People wouldn’t believe that Meghan Markle ate at Jack in the Box.” To which Meghan replies: “It’s so funny, too, that you keep saying Meghan Markle. You know I’m Sussex now. You have kids, and you go, ‘now I share my name with my children’…I didn’t know how meaningful it would be to me, but it just means so much to go ‘this is our family name, our little family name’.”

In another moment, as Meghan chatted with Drew, she had an exciting surprise for everyone in the audience – announcing she had made homemade cookies for every single person in the room to try.

Meghan revealed that she worked tirelessly in the kitchen to make enough cookies to bring for the cast, crew, and audience of The Drew Barrymore Show. And as it was more than a one-person job, Meghan says she also put Harry, Archie and one of her close friends to work to help her – showing a snap of Archie helping with the baking process.

After unveiling the surprise, Drew was over the moon as she admitted that she had never had a guest cook for the entire live audience before.

Meghan’s Netflix show is being viewed as a make-or-break moment for the Sussexes, who signed a multimillion-pound deal with Netflix in 2020, with their most successful output being their controversial Harry & Meghan documentary, which features accusations against the royal family.

The duchess renamed her lifestyle brand As Ever, switching from the name American Riviera Orchard just weeks before the launch after facing trademarking setbacks, with Netflix now a new partner in her business.

As Ever trademark applications include a vast range of products from shower gels, incense, pet shampoo and gardening trowels to cutlery, stationery, diaries, paper party decorations, wrapping paper, ornamental non-precious stones, bird houses, honey stirrers, jams, marmalades and tea sets.