Meghan Markle's tears for Diana, long before she met Prince Harry

Meghan Markle shed tears for Diana long before she knew Prince Harry. Photo / Instagram

She may have only married Harry a year ago, but it turns out the Duchess of Sussex had an affinity for the royal family long before she met her prince.

A royal source has revealed Meghan Markle broke down while watching Princess Diana's funeral on TV in 1997.

Royal biographer Andrew Morton claims in his new book, "Meghan: A Hollywood Princess", that Markle watched the ceremony and was highly emotional as the coffin was carried, reports The Sun.

Millions streamed the moving event in which brothers Prince Harry and Prince William trailed behind the carriage that carried their young mother.

Diana's 1997 funeral captivated the world. Photo / Getty Images

Morton says in his biography that Markle and her friends were "devastated" at the time of Diana's passing.

He wrote that "tears coursed down their cheeks" as the envelope with "mummy" written on it was put down by the coffin, that 12-year-old Prince Harry had written.

According to The Sun, after the ceremony, Markle and her friends watched videos of Prince Charles and Diana's memorable nuptials in 1981.

Princess Diana was very close to her sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. Photo / AP

Markle was apparently fascinated by Diana and even owned Morton's biography about her.

In the book, he writes: "As friend Ninaki Priddy observed: 'She was always fascinated by the royal family. She wanted to be Diana 2.0.'"

Captivated, Markle began collecting clothing and toys for under-privileged children, as Diana would, obviously having no idea that her idol would one day become her mother-in-law.

Markle is now living life in the spotlight, similar to Diana. Photo / Instagram

Now Markle is rumoured to be visiting Diana's grave for the first time.

Previously Harry has said he thinks Markle and his mother would have been be "best friends" and "thick as thieves".

In many ways the Sussex family often pay respects to Diana, whether it be through humanitarian work or on their Instagram account.

Last month it was revealed that in Archie's nursery they have a photo of Princess Diana.

On Saturday, Elton John shared a tribute on Instagram to his late friend for the 22nd anniversary of her death, with the caption "Miss you so much #PrincessDiana Elton xx".

View this post on Instagram

Miss you so much 😢❤️ #PrincessDiana @richardyoung110

A post shared by Elton John (@eltonjohn) on Sep 1, 2019 at 2:36am PDT