A British socialite and ex-friend of Meghan Markle has branded the duchess "desperate to be liked" in a scathing verdict of her recent business ventures. Lizzie Cundy, who has alleged that Meghan cut her off shortly after hitting it off with Prince Harry on a blind date, has hit out at her former friend hours after she broke down in tears during her first-ever podcast interview. Ms Cundy, 56, said the duchess was "desperate to be liked, desperate to be powerful and desperate to trump the royals with anything she does".

Speaking to MailOnline at the Diva Awards ceremony on Monday night, she added: "Sadly for her, you can't buy likeability and she's lacking in that by the bucket-load." "[Prince Harry] looks deeply unhappy," Ms Cunday said. "I think he is missing his family and, obviously, worried about his father's health."

The Duchess of Sussex spoke about her marriage to Prince Harry, their two children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three, and her frustration with having to "prove herself" during an appearance on The Jamie Kern Lima Show podcast this week.

Despite breaking down in tears during the interview, Meghan insisted she was doing "better than okay" and described her life in the affluent neighbourhood of Montecito, California, as "beautiful".

However, the appearance sparked a fresh wave of controversy for the former actress after host Jamie shared a photo of a card sent to her by Meghan in which the duchess appeared to sign off as "Her Royal Highness (HRH)", five years after agreeing to relinquish the title during "Megxit" negotiations.

The note was attached to a bundle of ice cream and homemade strawberry sauce, in keeping with the recent launch of Meghan's new lifestyle brand As, Ever, which coincided with the release of her Netflix cooking show this spring.

A spokesperson for Harry and Meghan said: "Harry and Meghan retain their HRH titles; however, by agreement, they do not use them for commercial purposes.

"As Jamie notes in her teaser, she has had the jam for over a year, indicating that the photo and gift are not recent. While they do not publicly use 'HRH', this was a personal gift, and their titles remain."