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Meghan Markle's BFF Kelly McKee Zajfen raved about how 'loving' Brits were in welcoming the Duchess back to the U.K.

Sept. 24 2026, Published 7:30 p.m. ET

Meghan Markle was mercilessly roasted by critics who accused her of using BFF Kelly McKee Zajfen to gush about just how thrilled Brits supposedly were to have the former "Diva Duchess" back on U.K. soil, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

Now that the Sussexes have relocated to England, their former Montecito neighbor Zajfen hopped across the pond to visit her close pal and wasted no time giving Instagram followers an intimate peek inside 45-year-old Markle and her husband Prince Harry's new life back in his homeland.

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Kelly McKee Zajfen shared a photo of Markle holding her baby son Jack during her visit to England.

"Having the best time. There's something so special about getting a taste of this magical place with my bestie, and having my sweet Jack along for the adventure," Zajfen began in the caption of an Instagram photo carousel on Wednesday, September 23, as she brought her 5-month-old son along on the trip.

The former model raved about Markle, "I've loved seeing this sweet chapter through her eyes and daily adventures!"

Zajfen then gushed that everyone the pals encountered while out and about in the Cotswolds had been "so loving" toward the ex-royal, despite Markle becoming a deeply polarizing figure among monarchists following her years of explosive accusations and public attacks against the royal family.

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Zajfen shared another photo having drinks in England with Markle and her longtime close pal Markus Anderson.

"To everyone we've met or bumped into, thank you for being so loving to my friend. It's been beautiful to witness," Zajfen effused.

The children's advocacy philanthropist then made the eyebrow-raising claim about Markle and the British people: "She missed you too!"

The glowing account of Markle's warm British reception is a dramatic turnaround from the duchess' own bleak descriptions of her previous life in the U.K. as a working royal, which she has characterized as an intensely restrictive and "cruel chapter" that left her "scared to go out."

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Markle attended several red carpet events in Los Angeles as philanthropist Zajfen's plus one.

Critics howled on social media over Zajfen's claims that Brits were warmly welcoming Markle back, and that the Suits alum actually missed living in Blighty.

"How embarrassing. A few polite hellos in one pretty village is not the country. Especially after years of Meghan and Harry portraying Britain as a hostile, racist place. If she's so accepted here, why does she need her American friend to do the PR?" one person asked, referring to how the ladies lunched at Three Horseshoes pub near Burford, Oxfordshire, on Monday, September 21, during their only public outing.

"Markle needed positive PR so bad she had to import people from America to get it," a second person snarked.

"It's laughable. I’m starting to wonder if Meghan paid for Kelly’s UK holiday just so she could come over and do the PR for her," a third comment read.

A fourth person fumed, "Well, I’m in the Cotswolds. I have met Markle and her vile husband several times before they left. I detest the pair of them. If they were being eaten by bears, I'd be concerned for the bears' digestion."

Zajfen shared a photo from her pub lunch with Markle and Ellen DeGeneres.

Markle had not been seen in the U.K. since she allegedly flew into Birmingham with Harry on August 26.

As rumors swirled that she may have stayed behind in Montecito, the former Deal or No Deal briefcase girl was filmed walking into Three Horseshoes with a burly bodyguard behind her as she met up with ex-pat and "Queen of Mean" former daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres on Monday.

Zajfen then proved she was along for the ride, posting lunch snaps with baby Jack perched on her lap, while the bag Markle had had her bodyguard carry was clearly visible on the chair beside her.