Tyler Perry did not take it lightly when he was crowned godfather to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's daughter.
The filmmaker recalled the moment he was asked by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex to be the godfather of their daughter Lilibet, 18 months, whom they welcomed in June 2021. It was a request that took Tyler by surprise.
"They were pretty serious on the phone," he recalled during episode six of the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan. "I go, 'OK, what's going on?' They said, 'Well, we'd like for you to be Lili's godfather.' I go, 'Whoa.' I take a minute to take that in. And I thought, ‘I'd be honored. I'd be absolutely honored.'"
After accepting the responsibility, the 53-year-old shared that he rang them once again with concerns about what would happen next, and whether he would have to go across the pond to officially accept this role.
"I got off the phone, took it all in and then called them back," Tyler continued. "I go, ‘Uh, hold on a second. Does this mean we got to go over there and do all of that in the church with them and figure all that out? I don't want to do that. Maybe we can do a little private ceremony here and let that be that and if you have to do it there, then that's okay.'"
Prior to becoming like family with the couple, Tyler had lent a listening ear and a helping hand to Meghan in various ways. Back in 2019, Meghan detailed the start of her and Tyler's friendship during an interview with The Cut where she explained that while they hadn't met in person, Tyler reached out to her after her and Harry's wedding to say that he was praying for her and "that he understood what this meant."
Meghan shared that she eventually opened up to Tyler over the phone about her reality amid their split from their royal duties. She noted, "Sometimes, you can tell your life story to a stranger on a plane as opposed to some of the people that are closest to you."
And after Meghan and Harry stepped back as senior members of the royal family, the Madea's Family Reunion director played a major role in helping them to safety.
After security concerns in Canada, where they stayed after their 2020 departure, Tyler offered the pair—and their son Archie, 3—one of his California homes complete with security, so they could start their new life together in the U.S. Looking back on his choice to lend them a place to reside, Tyler expressed no regret.
"It was a very difficult time for them," he said in a September interview with Today's Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. "And the love they have is really, really moving and I wanted to do anything I could to support them."