Meghan Markle's Brutal Snub! 'Diva Duchess' 'Fails to Secure an Invitation' to Valentino's Funeral After 'Desperately' Pushing To Attend
While Meghan Markle wasn't invited to Valentino's funeral, fashion A-listers like Anna Wintour made the cut.
Jan. 23 2026, Updated 5:35 p.m. ET
Despite her best efforts, Meghan Markle wasn't able to snag a coveted invitation to Valentino's Rome funeral, although a parade of A-listers were on hand to bid a fond farewell to the legendary designer, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Stars and fashion world icons such as actresses Anne Hathaway and Elizabeth Hurley, as well as designers Donatella Versace and Tom Ford and even Global Editorial Director of Vogue Anna Wintour, were on hand at the Basilica Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri on Friday, January 23.
Unfortunately, Markle, 44, was unable to successfully work any of her connections to get a seat.
'Hoping to Secure a Seat Among Fashion's Elite'
Despite knowing several attendees at Valentino's funeral, Meghan Markle couldn't land an invitation.
After Valentino died on Monday, January 19, at the age of 93, Markle reportedly began hustling through her connections to get an invitation to his memorial.
"She's quietly reaching out to Valentino’s inner circle, hoping to secure a seat among the fashion elite," a source dished to Hollywood insider Rob Shuter, who wrote about it on Substack.
"Meghan wants to pay her respects and be seen honoring a designer she's admired for years. She's very deliberate about making sure she's included," the source noted about the tenacious former Netflix star wanting to be part of the glittery mourners.
Fashion Elite In Attendance
Meghan Markle infamously invited herself to Pierpaolo Piccioli's Balenciaga Paris Fashion Week show in October 2025.
"Meghan sees this as an opportunity," the insider said about her burning desire to attend Valentino's funeral.
"It's not just paying respects — it's about being part of the inner circle of the fashion world. She knows this is one of those moments where image and timing matter," the insider continued.
It wasn't that Markle didn't have some invisible strings she could pull to try to snag an invitation.
Her husband, Prince Harry, was in a London courtroom the day before the funeral, showing support for his co-plaintiff, Hurley, 60, as she testified in their unlawful information gathering lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited.
Markle also had a connection through Pierpaolo Piccioli, Valentino's longtime creative director, who departed the brand in 2024 to take a similar position at Balenciaga.
He attended the funeral with fellow Italian Versace, 70.
The duchess infamously invited herself to Piccioli's first Paris Fashion Week showing for Balenciaga in October 2025.
Despite being a last-minute guest-list addition, Markle's persistence was rewarded with VIP treatment, including access to the fashion house's designs and a front-row seat.
Valentino's True Friends
Valentino’s funeral was attended by close friends and associates, including longtime muse Anne Hathaway.
While Markle had worn Valentino several times over the years, she was too far out of the fashion legend's orbit to have been an organic presence at his funeral.
Hathaway, on the other hand, paid tribute to her close relationship with the designer upon his passing by writing, "For the last twenty years, it has been my extraordinary honor to have known, loved, and been cared for by the great Valentino Garavani."
"He is a beloved, world-renowned Titan of a designer, but he was also my dear and cherished friend who educated me, raised me, sent me flowers every year on my birthday, and made me laugh," adding he made her custom couture wedding dress for her 2012 nuptials, calling it a "gesture so generous it still brings tears to my eyes."
No More 'With Love, Meghan'
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Netflix has pulled the plug on Meghan Markle's lifestyle series 'With Love, Meghan.'
Markle's denial of an invitation to Valentino's funeral was the latest setback in a week's time for the former royal who has been branded "Duchess Difficult."
She was torched for a "cringeworthy" video she shared via Instagram showing her and Harry dancing barefoot in their backyard.
Then on Tuesday, January 20, it was revealed that Netflix allegedly plans to cancel her lifestyle influencer series, With Love, Meghan.
To add insult to injury, viewing numbers for the show's second season, which was actually unused Season 1 material, showed it didn't even crack the streaming service's top 1,000 shows for the last half of 2025.
