MEGHAN MANIA!
Crowds shout ‘we love you’ as she visits Brixton
THERE was a kiss for the crowds, headphones in the radio studio and even a ‘fist bump’ from Prince Harry.
The fifth in line to the throne and his actress fiancee, Meghan Markle, took part in only their second engagement as a couple yesterday.
After spending New Year in the billionaire playground of Monaco, the couple were in the somewhat grittier surroundings of Brixton, South London, where they visited urban radio station Reprezent 107.3 FM.
And boy, didn’t Meghan dazzle. Although heavily made up, her brown eyes were twinkling and her hair was swept back in a slightly messy but onpoint low chignon. There was little doubt who the crowds had come to see as the couple walked from their chauffeur-driven car hand in hand.
For Harry there were cheers, but it was the chants of ‘Meghan, we want to see Meghan!’ that rang out. Indeed the reception was so fevered that the prince was forced to break off from meeting a line-up of dignitaries waiting
outside Pop Brixton – a series of old shipping containers hosting trendy bars, restaurant and start-up businesses – to ask his fiancee to acknowledge them. ‘This is so loud, you have to,’ he said.
Meghan, whose outfit included a £45 bell-sleeved jumper from M&S, turned, smiled shyly, and then blew a kiss – making everyone scream even louder.
Among the crowd was Helen Wiltshire, 69, who was almost hysterical as she met Meghan and told her she ‘loved her’.
The care assistant, who was there with her daughter Sandra, 39, added: ‘I just love Prince Harry. For him to have found someone who he really loves it is amazing. You can feel their love.’
The Reprezent radio station is staffed entirely by under-25s and has produced stars including charttopping grime musician Stormzy in the 15 years it has been on air. Started as an antidote to the rise in knife crime in the area, it runs an impressive training programme for young people wanting to work in radio and the media.
So far 4,000 young men and women have benefited from the scheme, with a further 3,000 on the waiting list.
The couple went into a studio where DJ Glory was broadcasting, along with her friend DJ Remi Adermi, who said she was ‘gassed’ – slang for excited – to meet the couple.
Meghan, 36, took the lead, confidently introducing herself, followed by Harry, 33. ‘Hi, I’m Meghan, nice to meet you,’ she told Glory. ‘I hear your show is very popular. I can see why you are so popular, you are so thoughtful in your approach, you’re so engaging to listen to.’ The royal couple wore headphones to listen to Glory talk through the next segment, but did not go on the air themselves.
DJ Remi, 24, couldn’t resist getting Harry to have a go at her trademark ‘fist pump’ – involving a series of complicated hand gestures – which she ‘had practised with her brother the night before’.
Laughing, Harry said: ‘That’s just for us, just between us’, and then gave her a hug.
It was announced later that Meghan has decided to close her Twitter, Facebook and Instagram accounts, which have been dormant for some time.
Another royal in the news yesterday was the Duchess of Cambridge, who celebrated her 36th birthday on her daughter Princess Charlotte’s second day at nursery school.