Lion King star ‘doesn’t remember’ discussing Nelson Mandela with Meghan Markle

The only South African cast member of The Lion King says he’s never even met Meghan Markle, let alone compared her to Nelson Mandela.

Meghan Markle sensationally claimed she was compared to Nelson Mandela this week, only to spark widespread confusion.

The Duchess of Sussex said she was told by a male South African cast member at the premiere of The Lion King in 2019 that her marriage to Prince Harry sparked celebrations similar to those when the iconic leader was finally freed from jail.

However, Dr John Kani – who played Rafiki and says he was the only male South African actor in the movie – has claimed she must be “misremembering” events, The Sun reports.

He explained that not only did he not meet the royal, he wasn’t even at the event.

He told the Mail: “I have never met Meghan Markle. This seems like something of a faux pas by her.”

And the bizarre incident is not the first time Meghan’s ‘truths’ have been called into question.

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Meghan Markle interview in The Cut has been called into question.

School run ‘press scrum’

During the same interview, Meghan, 41, suggested that if her son, Archie, had gone to school in the UK, he would have faced a press pen.

“Sorry, I have a problem with that,” she said.

“That doesn’t make me obsessed with privacy. That makes me a strong and good parent protecting my child.”

However, there are strict rules governing the press which prevent photos being taken of children at school.

Any pictures taken of royal children are usually prearranged with one photographer and one film camera present.

Last month, it was reported that Prince William will do the school run after his children George, Charlotte and Louis start at new $11,900-a-term Lambrook Prep.

Meghan said she would have faced press photographers at drop-off if she sent Archie to school in the UK.

‘N-word’ row

Meghan toldThe Cut’s Allison Davis she resented allowing pictures of Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, to be circulated to the media.

The article then goes on to imply her reasoning is down to racist language – appearing to suggest the press had used the N-word to refer to her children.

Meghan explained: “There’s literally a structure by which if you want to release photos of your child, as a member of the family, you first have to give them to the Royal Rota.

“Why would I give the very people that are calling my children the N-word a photo of my child before I can share it with the people that love my child?”

It’s unclear who Meghan was referring to when she said “people”.

Royal experts were quick to question Meghan’s inference, with royal editor Ingrid Seward saying: “She appears to make an unsubstantiated claim that the British press used the N-word to describe her children.

“An interviewer worth her salt would have fact-checked that and it is something which never happened.”

It is unclear whether Meghan had meant to direct the allegation at the press or to members of the public in general.

‘Forgotten’ emails

Last year, Meghan apologised to a court, claiming she “forgot” about emails sent by her and Prince Harry regarding their unofficial biography, Finding Freedom.

The correspondence was released by the Court of Appeal and showed how the couple had heavily briefed their press spokesman Jason Knauf before he met the book’s authors, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, two years ago.

When Finding Freedom was published, a spokesman for the couple told the Press Association: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute.”

Having previously denied any involvement, the Duchess of Sussex apologised to a court, claiming she “forgot” about emails sent by her and Prince Harry regarding their unofficial biography.

Archie ‘racism’ storm

The single most damaging claim from Harry and Meghan’s explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in March last year was that a member of the royal family had “conversations” and “concerns” about the colour of their son Archie’s skin when she was pregnant.

Meghan has refused to name the member of the Firm she alleges made the remarks.

But her account differs from Harry’s.

He says the conversation happened at the beginning of their relationship.

Passport ‘taken away’

Meghan claimed during the Oprah chat that she’d had her passport, keys and driver’s licence taken from her.

She also said she was unable to “just leave”.

However, after meeting Harry, she must have still had her passport to hand – as the couple jetted off on 13 holidays together including breaks in Ibiza, Nice and Amsterdam.

She also travelled without Harry to New York and Toronto.

The former Suits star made several overseas trips while she was a working royal.

Kate Middleton made her cry

Another claim Meghan made in the Oprah interview was that Kate Middleton made her cry at a bridesmaid fitting before her wedding.

But the journalist behind the original story – which alleged that in fact Meghan made Kate cry – has stuck by her sources.

There have subsequently been claims that the Duchess of Cambridge went to apologise and Meg threw her peace offering flowers in the bin.

Clueless about royals

When Meghan and Harry got engaged in November 2017, she claimed she barely knew who he was when they met on their first date.

She said: “It’s so interesting because we talk about it and now and even then, I, you know, because I’m from the States, you don’t grow up with the same understanding of the royal family and so while I now understand very clearly, there’s a global interest there.

“I didn’t know much about him, and so the only thing that I had asked her when she said that she wanted to set us up, was, I had one question. I said, ‘Well is he nice?’”

Meghan also insisted she didn’t do “any research into the monarchy” before they got married.

But according to the authors of Finding Freedom, Meghan conducted a thorough Google search on Harry ahead of their date.

Meghan had also known Princess Eugenie for several years before meeting the Duke, and her old school friend Ninaki Priddy said Meg was “fascinated” by both the royal family and Princess Diana.

Another of Meghan’s childhood friends claimed she was always obsessed with royalty and had aspirations of being “Princess Diana 2.0”.

Ms Priddy said the pair travelled to London as teens and even shared a photo of them beaming in front of Buckingham Palace.

Secret wedding

In the Oprah chat, Meghan claimed she and Harry were secretly married by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the garden at Nottingham Cottage three days before their official wedding in May 2018.

But their wedding certificate proved this was not true.

The Archbishop of Canterbury also later confirmed it didn’t happen.

He said: “I would have committed a serious criminal offence if I signed it knowing it was false.”

Meghan claimed she and Harry actually wed in secret before the big day. Picture: Getty Images

Archie ‘not allowed’ to be prince

Meghan claimed the royal family refused Archie’s birthright to be a prince and suggested there were “concerns and conversations” a senior royal had about his skin tone.

However, according to royal protocol, Archie can only receive a title when Prince Charles takes the throne.

King George V issued a writ in 1917 that only royal offspring who are in direct line of succession can be made prince and receive HRH titles.

She was ‘silenced’

One of the most iconic moments from the Oprah interview was when the chat show host asked Meghan: “Were you silent or silenced?”

Meghan said she was “silenced” by the royal family, which was part of the reason she and Harry eventually left for Canada and then Los Angeles.

But before they left the UK, Meghan guest-edited British Vogue and made 73 public appearances – many of which she spoke at.

She also chatted to the BBC with Harry for their engagement.

And famously she gave a tearful interview to Tom Bradby for ITN when in South Africa.

Meghan during her interview with Tom Bradby.

TV was never planned

Meghan agreed when Harry said working with TV companies, such as streaming giant Netflix, was not part of the plan when they first decided to move to the US.

However, it has since been revealed that the couple started speaking to Quibi video streaming in early 2019.

Meghan was also in talks with Netflix in 2018 about an animated TV series. This week she hinted that the documentary she and Prince Harry are currently filming for the service could focus on their ‘love story’.

Wanted privacy

Meghan and Harry have continuously claimed they want a private life and moved to the States to escape the public eye.

But during their time in LA, Harry has been on the Late Late Show with James Corden, during which he went on an open-top bus tour through Beverly Hills.

Meghan Markle also made an appearance on Ellen.

Piers Morgan pointed out another example of where the Duke and Duchess shunned their own privacy.

He explained: “We know that within several days of the Oprah interview that Charles – Prince Charles and Prince William, who are our future two kings of Great Britain – both called Prince Harry to discuss the interview.

“And the reason we know that … the first thing they did was tell Gayle King, Oprah’s best friend who hosts the CBS Morning Show, who then broadcasted to the American people that not only had Charles and William called, which in itself was an invasion of their privacy, but that the calls ... hadn’t gone anywhere.

“I don’t know how they can trust them again, if that was my family. Could you trust a family member if every time you call them, they immediately ring the anchor of a big American breakfast show?”

This article originally appeared on The Sun and has been reproduced here with permission