They are rich, American and powerful and they have clubbed together with one burning purpose — to defend their friend Meghan Markle.
George Clooney is the leader this so-called Court of Glamelot, and is the latest to speak out in support of the Duchess of Sussex with utter disdain of royal protocol.
This week the Hollywood superstar — who with wife Amal has enjoyed a string of lunches with Meghan and Harry — claimed the mum-to-be is being “pursued and vilified” like Princess Diana.
He then warned of a risk of “history repeating itself”.
His outburst was the latest salvo issued by a clutch of Meghan’s A-list pals to speak out for their friend now she can no longer do so herself.
And this PR-savvy gang has totally wrong-footed royal officials.
Earlier this month, tennis ace Serena Williams — like the Clooneys a guest at last year’s royal wedding — appeared to confirm she was among anonymous friends to speak out on behalf of Meghan in People magazine.
The US article revealed the Duchess had begged her estranged father Thomas to stop victimising her.
The next day Serena tweeted a snap of herself drinking a cuppa, captioning it “sips tea” — internet slang for hinting that someone is enjoying seeing gossip spread.
A source said: “Meghan’s powerful friends are highly successful figures who have made their own way in life. They are mostly US-based and are not going to defer to palace officials.
“They are highly protective of Meg and believe she is not being given enough protection by the royal machine over claims she is difficult and heartless towards her dad.
“The worry for palace officials is the obvious parallel with Princess Diana, who also bypassed the official channels during her PR war with Prince Charles.” Read more
