Meghan Markle Netflix show revelations - Harry mystery, brutal joke and A-list cameo

Meghan Markle's panned lifestyle show has returned to Netflix for a second season - and it looks set to get tongues wagging all over again.

The second series of With Love, Meghan, has dropped on the streaming platform this morning and follows on from the first season, which sees Meghan share cooking, crafting, and hosting tips with a range of pals and experts.

Among the celebrity guests this time are US model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen and Queer Eye star Tan France, as well as podcaster Jay Shetty and his cookbook author wife Radhi Devlukia. While chefs joining Meghan include Clare Smyth, who runs Core, a three-Michelin star restaurant in London, and Jose Andres, who set up the World Central Kitchen.

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The show comes on the back of Meghan and Prince Harry announcing a new watered-down deal with the streaming giant, in contrast to their reported 100 million dollar (£74million) contract five years ago.

And as fans get ready to pore over the details of the series, here we look at the new episodes, which feature a fleeting appearance from an A-list singer, a brutal joke about Meghan's former TV show, and more insights into Meghan's home life...

Prince Harry mystery

Although it is Meghan's show, husband Prince Harry did make a fleeting appearance in the last episode of the first season of With Love, Meghan.

He appears in the last 10 minutes when he turns up at a garden brunch Meghan throws for her family, including mum Doria, and friends. She introduces Harry to the camera at the brunch party, and he awkwardly waves.

However, in the latest series of the show, he does not appear at all. In fact, the only glimpses of him are in photos, such as one that shows him and Meghan with Clare Smyth, who appears in the sixth episode of the latest series.

But Meghan does talk about Harry in the show, telling Queer Eye star Tan France how the Duke of Sussex first told her he loved her on their third date in Botswana, with him being the first to say it.

Meanwhile, in the seventh episode, while packing for a trip, Meghan shows the camera a navy baseball cap with the slogan 'PH 40' on it, which she says she had made for Harry and his mates for his 40th birthday.

A-lister surprise

But despite Harry not appearing on camera, viewers are treated to two cameo appearances from another very famous husband.

In the second episode, Meghan invites over model Chrissy Teigen to make crackers and flower jewellery. They reveal they first got to know each other when they both worked as briefcase girls on the US version of the show Deal or No Deal.

And as Chrissy arrives at Meghan's rented farmhouse, her husband, three-time Grammy award winning singer songwriter John Legend, appears on camera to say hello, with Meghan telling him: "I would have told H to come."

The All of Me hitmaker also makes another appearance at the end of the episode to try cheesy crackers the two women have made with Meghan telling him: "Thanks for being so patient."

Birthday gaffe

In the same episode, Meghan and Chrissy pick flowers from the garden, specifically those that are the blooms of their children's birth months, in order to press them to make jewellery.

But Chrissy admits she would have to look up her children's birthdays and shows Meghan her tattoo of her kids' date of births on her arm, as she doesn't remember. But even then, she stumbles on the birthday of her son Miles, not remembering if it was May 16 or 18.

Luckily husband John, who is off camera, can be heard helping out, telling her their oldest son was born on May 16, 2018. Meghan jokes: "You've got a husband and a tattoo to make you stay on top of all the things."

Flower sprinkles jibe

In the new season's third episode, Meghan is joined by Queer Eye star Tan France, with the pair making French toast and then designing some small aprons for cooking for their children.

After whipping up some French toast, Meghan decorates the plate with fruit before adding some icing sugar and her signature flower sprinkles, which are now a product in her As Ever range.

As she adds the sprinkles, Tan asks her: "What was that you just added?" To which Meghan replies: "Flower sprinkles, I love them." To which Tan teases her and says: "Wow, that's the gayest s*** I've seen in a long time", before the pair giggle and Meghan tells him: "But I really like things to look beautiful."

Children admission

In the third epsiode, Meghan also reveals how spending nearly three weeks away from her children left her “not well”.

She did not elaborate on dates, but it seems she was referring to when the Sussexes unexpectedly remained in the UK due to the death of Queen Elizabeth II in 2022.

Meghan opens up about what she misses most about the UK, confesses she dislikes baking, and tells how she produced a “truly terrible” roast chicken on the night Harry asked her to marry him.

The former Suits star was sympathising with Queer Eye star Tan France who explained he gets heartbroken if away from his two young children for more than a couple of days.

A serious-looking Meghan replies, nodding and looking up at the ceiling: “Oh I know. The longest I went without being around our kids was almost three weeks.” “I was,” she says before pausing “…not well.”

The duke wrote in his memoir Spare of the “difficult days” after the Queen’s death, how he and Meghan were separated from Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet for “longer than we’d ever been”, and when they reunited in California “for days and days we couldn’t stop hugging the children, couldn’t let them out of our sight”.

The King and the royal family were mourning the loss of Elizabeth II, the nation’s longest-reigning monarch, in September 2022, against the backdrop of a troubled relationship with Harry and Meghan.

Harry said later in an ITV interview that there was a “really horrible reaction from my family members” when the Queen died, with “the briefings and the leakings and the planting”.

Suits dig

Meanwhile, a playful dig comes in episode seven, when Meghan and her friend Heather Dorak go on a girls' trip to Malibu, in an episode dedicated to those who fought the California wildfires at the beginning of the year.

As part of the trip, they get a lesson in making cocktails from mixology expert, Payman Bahmani-Bailey, who shows them how to make a 50/50 martini.

As he mixes the vermouth and gin, Meghan asks him how he got into mixology. He tells her: "I used to be a lawyer in New York" to which Meghan asks: "Did you watch Suits?"

But he laughs and says: "No, no, I don't watch basic cable" and follows up with: "I like shows with curse words."

Glimpse of home

Of course, as with the first season, With Love, Meghan has not been filmed at Harry and Meghan's own Montecito home, rather a farmhouse a short drive away.

However, in episode four, Meghan gives a glimpse of her very own garden as she collects apples from her trees to make apple butter using her grandmother's recipe.

Archie and Lilibet wish

As well as Harry not appearing in the series, neither do their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

But in the second episode, Meghan reveals the one thing her children wished they could have at home. As she talks to Chrissy Teigen, who tells Meghan they have both dogs and cats at home, the Duchess of Sussex says her children wish they had a cat.

Meanwhile, in the first episode of the season, as Meghan makes eggs with chefs Christina Tosi and David Chang, as well as make-up artist pal Daniel Martin, she reveals that among her chickens at home are two unusual 'silkie' chickens, called Jill and Phil. This breed of chicken is known for its fluffy plumage.

UK life

Although Meghan never specifically references her time as a working royal, she does talk about her time living in the UK on several occasions.

With chef Clare Smyth, who works in London, they discuss the differences in names for different herbs between the UK and US.

And when she chats to Tan France, who originally hails from Doncaster, Meghan reveals what she misses most about UK life - UK radio stations.

She tells him: "Honestly, what I miss most about the UK, the radio stations, Magic." And Tan says: "Magic Fm? Wow. Sorry to say this to you so publicly, but that's such a grandma station." And Meghan says: "I'll be that grandma!"