Lion King premiere: Beyonce called Meghan 'princess' as they met for first time, lip reader reveals

The Duchess of Sussex was hailed a “princess” by Beyoncé as the pair met for the first time at the European premiere of The Lion King last night, a lip reader has revealed.

Beyoncé greeted Meghan with “Hi, my princess” before hugging her as they met each other in Leicester Square.

The singer, dressed in a daring yellow evening gown split to the thigh, rubbed Meghan on the back as the pair embraced for several seconds inside the Odeon cinema.

A lip reader told The Mail that the greeting was in reference to a pre-recorded acceptance message that Beyonce and Jay-Z recorded in February for the BRIT awards.

The message featured a spoof painting of Meghan dressed in a tiara and pearls.

Beyoncé, who met the Duke and Duchess of Sussex alongside her husband Jay-Z, is known to be a fan of Meghan and paid tribute to her on her website during Black History Month.

The singer, who voices Nala in the remake of the 1994 classic, told the duchess at the premiere: “The baby, so beautiful. We love you guys.”

Meghan then turned to introduce her husband, dressed in a dashing tuxedo, who greeted Beyoncé with a kiss on each cheek and Jay-Z with a handshake.

"You’ve been rather busy," said Harry to Beyoncé.

"Congratulations on the birth of your baby," Jay-Z said to the prince and nodded towards Meghan.

“And how are the twins," asked the prince, in reference to their children, Rumi and Sir, born in 2017.

"They are not here. They don’t come on every trip," replied Beyoncé. "We left them at home. They would loved to have been here."

Jay-Z added: "The best advice I can give you, always find some time for yourself."

Asked later about how the encounter went, Beyoncé smiled broadly and said: "They are so sweet" and looked surprisingly emotional.

Harry and Meghan also met a host of other cast members and stars including Sir Elton John, accompanied by his husband, David Furnish, who wrote the original score.

Harry greeted him warmly with a huge hug. The duke has known the singer for most of his life and his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, was a close friend.

Meghan, who met the star when he sang at their wedding, also hugged him