Just when the Duchess of Sussex thought the whispers of her pre-royal past had finally faded, a fresh controversy has erupted — and this one cuts uncomfortably close to old, long-denied rumours.

This week, online commentators and tabloid watchers were set alight by renewed claims surrounding Meghan Markle’s early Toronto years, specifically her friendship with Canadian TV host Ben Mulroney. At the centre of the uproar are what critics have breathlessly labelled “penetrating conversations” — a phrase now ricocheting across social media, reigniting debate over boundaries, ambition, and the blurred lines of elite networking.

To be clear, no concrete evidence has emerged of impropriety. No leaked messages. No recordings. No sworn statements. Yet in the world Meghan inhabits, perception has a habit of becoming reality — especially when it echoes narratives audiences believe they’ve seen before.

Mulroney, the son of former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney, was a powerful gatekeeper in Toronto’s media scene when Meghan was a struggling actress on Suits. Their friendship was well-known, socially visible, and by most accounts professionally beneficial. Critics now claim their exchanges were “intense,” “strategic,” and “deeply personal” — though supporters argue this is little more than misogynistic code for a woman networking confidently in male-dominated spaces.

Still, the language being used has set alarm bells ringing.

Online detractors have gone further, crudely reviving the infamous “yacht girl” slur — a label Meghan has never substantiated and has consistently been linked to sexist attacks rather than facts. Comparing the new allegations as “worse” has infuriated her defenders, who say it reflects a persistent tendency to sexualise women’s ambition while excusing men’s influence.

Royal insiders, meanwhile, say the timing is telling. With Meghan attempting yet another reinvention — lifestyle branding, soft-focus family imagery, and a push for credibility as a thought leader — renewed scrutiny of her past is proving inconvenient, to say the least.

“This isn’t about what she did,” one media analyst noted. “It’s about what people think she represents. And once that narrative hardens, it’s very difficult to shake.”

Neither Meghan nor Ben Mulroney has publicly addressed the latest chatter. Palace sources insist there is “nothing new here,” while California-based allies dismiss the claims as recycled innuendo dressed up as revelation.

Yet the episode underlines a brutal truth of modern celebrity: for Meghan Markle, every conversation — real or imagined — is dissected for motive, meaning, and menace.

In the court of public opinion, silence is rarely neutral. And once again, the Duchess finds herself fighting not facts, but fatigue — from an audience no longer sure what, or who, to believe.