Who are the most talked-about couple in the world right now? The Duke and Duchess of Sussex no doubt like to think it’s them, but really that accolade goes to another British personality and his American girlfriend, Tom Holland and Zendaya.
Their star turn in Spider-Man: No Way Home has helped the film become one of the biggest hits of all time, taking £1.27 billion at box offices around the world since its release just before Christmas.
Now, I hear that Prince Harry and Meghan want some of the screen pair’s stardust to rub off on themselves.
I can reveal that the royal couple contacted Holland and Zendaya out of the blue and asked to meet.
‘Tom and Zendaya were rather bemused, from what I hear,’ one of Harry’s old friends tells me.
‘Tom had never met Harry or spoken to him in his life, so didn’t know what they wanted.’
Nevertheless, the actors agreed to meet the Sussexes, who live in Montecito, California. ‘The meeting took place,’ claims the source.
Managing to conduct the get-together amid complete secrecy was a major achievement for the two couples.
It’s unclear why Harry and former actress Meghan were so keen to meet Holland and Zendaya, but they may have hoped to persuade them to take part in one of their media projects.
This week, it was reported audio giant Spotify was taking production of the Sussexes’ pet project into its own hands.
The couple were signed up in an £18 million podcast deal a year ago but have so far produced only one show.
If the world’s biggest showbusiness couple could be persuaded to appear on their podcast, it would be a major coup for Harry and Meghan.
Tom, the son of comedian Dominic Holland and photographer Nikki, grew up in Kingston-upon-Thames, 11 miles away from Kensington Palace, where Harry was raised.
He attended a comprehensive school while Harry went to £44,000-per-year Eton College.
The royal couple are known to court entertainment stars assiduously. At their Windsor wedding in 2018, some of Harry’s old friends were surprised to see famous actors and TV personalities they didn’t know had ever met the prince.
At the wedding ceremony, Princess Diana’s former flatmate, Carolyn Bartholomew, was said to have turned to Hollywood star George Clooney and wife Amal, who were seated alongside her, and asked how they knew Harry or Meghan. ‘We don’t,’ the Clooneys reportedly answered, according to Boris Johnson’s journalist sister, Rachel.
