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Last year, Meghan Markle invited Mindy Kaling to participate in an episode of her Netflix lifestyle show<\/a> With Love, Meghan.<\/em> There, the pair cooked and did crafts for a child\u2019s birthday party. Judging by her appearance on the program, Kaling and Meghan have an easy rapport but don\u2019t seem to be especially close. At one point, for instance, Meghan corrects Kaling about her last name: it\u2019s not Markle anymore, but Sussex.<\/p>\n Still, it seems Kaling may have picked up something from her interactions with the duchess. On a visit to Kaling\u2019s Los Angeles office for a Bustle<\/em> cover story<\/a>, writer Ashley Spencer spotted an item with a royal connection: a bedazzled picture frame with the words \u201cNever Complain, Never Explain\u201d embroidered on mustard yellow fabric. The phrase should be familiar to royal watchers: it\u2019s a signature line spoken by Queen Elizabeth II that eventually became an unofficial royal family motto.<\/p>\n The token was apparently a gift to Kaling from B.J. Novak, her co-star from The Office.<\/em> Kaling and Novak dated in the 2000s; now they have a close friendship<\/a>, and Kaling has said that Novak is the godfather to her three children, Katherine, 8, Spencer, 5, and Anne, 2. Kaling knows that her friendship with Novak has raised a few eyebrows. \u201cHe really is in our family, and I love talking about him because my kids adore him, and he\u2019s such a huge part of our life. But I also know that it gives people a lot of ideas,\u201d she says in the profile. \u201cIf I was just watching it from the outside, I would have the same questions and the same reactions.\u201d<\/p>\n As the author of two essay collections, Mindy Kaling is usually seen as an open book, but throughout the interview, Kaling\u2019s answers retain an air of mystery. In response to questions about her dating life, she says only that she is still single; when asked about her recent visible weight loss, she says she doesn\u2019t want to talk about methods, only motivations. She adds, in a coda: \u201cOf course, it\u2019s never a joy to be scrutinized, but also I truly understand it, as someone who consumes pop culture.\u201d It\u2019s an update to Elizabeth\u2019s adage fit for the 21st century: Kinda complain, kinda explain.<\/p>\n