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Meghan Markle recognised an old friend in the crowd and her face is EVERYTHING.

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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have had plenty of touching moments with fans during their 16-day royal tour. But one on their penultimate day in New Zealand was probably the most unexpected by everyone involved.

As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex walked by a crowd near Viaduct Harbour in Auckland on Tuesday, accompanied by New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Meghan suddenly spotted a familiar face.

The Duchess did a double take when she recognised 20-year-old Hannah Sergel – a woman who had actually corresponded with Meghan through Instagram before she deactivated her social media accounts in January this year.

Hannah later posted a short video of her delightfully stunned reaction to Twitter.

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Hannah was equally shocked by the encounter – later saying she needed the NZ PM to comfort her.

“I am so shaky and flustered. When I first saw her, I cried,” she told New Zealand’s 1 NEWS.

The woman, who had created a fan account following the then-Suits actress, said Meghan had a brief but warm chat to her.

“She said ‘thank you for getting in touch’, and then she gave me a hug and said she would read my letter that I gave her.”

Hannah described her and the Duchess as “friends” on Instagram.

“We used to have conversations and stuff on there. She would tell me to do well at university and encourage me to be myself.”

And now it seems the 20-year-old will be able to count the New Zealand prime minister as a friend too after Jacinda privately sent her a great photo of Meghan’s reaction.

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Meghan and Harry will conclude their royal tour on Wednesday with a visit to Rotorua, where they will stop by Rainbow Springs and the Redwoods Treewalk Rotorua.

On Thursday they will fly home to London.