The final installment of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Netflix docuseries has hit Netflix. The sixth episode features interviews with the couple’s friends, including Tyler Perry.
During his interview, as reported by Harper’s Bazaar, Perry detailed the extent of his relationship with the royal couple, revealing that he is the godfather of their second child, Lilibet.
Perry, 53, said he was surprised when the couple asked him to take the role. He explained, “They were pretty serious on the phone, and I am like, ‘OK, what’s going on?’ And they said, ‘Well, we would like for you to be Lili’s godfather.'”
After getting over his initial shock, Perry happily accepted.
“I had to take a minute to take that in, and I thought I’d be honored, absolutely be honored,” the Black film titan shared.
Although he was honored to take on the new role, Perry told the couple that he wouldn’t attend the traditional christening ceremony with the rest of the British royal family.
“I got off the phone and took it all in, and then I called them back and said, ‘Hold on a second, does that mean we have to go over there and do all of that in the church with them and figure all of that out? Because I don’t want to do that.'”
He continued by saying he suggested they could “do a private ceremony” in the U.S. and “let that be that.” But if it was necessary for them to go to the U.K. for the ceremony, that would be OK.
The royal family’s tradition is to have their children’s christening at one of the royal residences. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex hosted their son Archie’s ceremony at Windsor Castle in July 2019.
The couple’s daughter, Lilibet Diana, was born on June 4, 2021. She is the namesake of her paternal great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, and her paternal grandmother, Princess Diana.
Perry extended his support to the couple in 2020 by offering them to stay in his $18 million Beverly Hills mansion after they left the U.K.
During the episode, Perry said he would do anything for the couple after seeing how they were being mistreated. He said he viewed the actions of the royal family as comparable to an abusive relationship.
“To use the institution to try and do all the things a batterer would do, like, ‘Here’s what we’re gonna do, we’re gonna cut off the money; we’re not gonna leave you security; we’re gonna do all those things to make you comply and come back,'” he shared.
Perry continued praising the couple’s decision to leave royal life, saying, “And for the both of them to have the wherewithal to say, ‘I don’t give a d**n if it’s the palace. I’m outta here.’ I applauded that.”
