Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Meghan mania!
People go wild as she makes her royal debut
IT was bitingly cold as Meghan Markle did her first walkabout, but she received the warmest of welcomes, chatting so easily with the people she met that many compared her to Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana.
The prince and his fiancee arrived to whoops of “Meghan, Meghan” and she repaid their enthusiasm, reaching out, rubbing frozen hands warm between her own, and leaning in to catch the words of old and young alike.
It would have been easy for the Suits actress to play to the cameras, but even to a cynical eye it was obvious this was no act. It was genuine .
Yvonne Anderson, 54, was among the crowd, and said: “She showed real affection, she wasn’t stiff, and I loved that – we want to see the warmth.
“I do think she could capture people’s hearts like Diana did.
“We are ready for a new people’s princess, and I do think it will be her.”
Harry remarked on Monday that Meghan and his mother would have been “thick as thieves”, and on her first official Royal engagement, the actress proved she was cast from the same mould as Diana. She charmed every person she met and unquestionably has the touch of a Queen of Hearts. Her inaugural post-engagement walkabout could not have been more different to Diana’s first outing as Prince Charles’s fiancee. At that charity event in March 1981 at Goldsmiths’ Hall in London, Diana seemed timid and painfully self-conscious in a
low-cut strapless dress – which she later revealed Prince Charles had criticised before they set out.
There was little sign then of the People’s Princess she was to become.
For Meghan in Nottingham yesterday, there was, on occasion, a slight dimming of that mega-watt beam, a Diana-like dip of the head, and shy smile in the face of the sheer scale of the welcome that greeted her.
But there was no awkwardness as she weaved down each side of the street, repeating in her Californian twang: “Thank you for having me.”
Meghan’s dedication to philanthropy also makes it easy to compare her with Diana.
Once Diana had found her feet, she threw herself into her work for her good causes, from helping the victims of landmines to tackling homelessness.
Before meeting
Harry, Meghan had already travelled to
Rwanda to raise awareness of the need for clean water supplies.
Harry’s charity work in Africa is close to his heart, particularly his AIDS awareness charity, X in Lesotho. His decision to introduce Meghan, on their first official outing, to the Terrence Higgins Trust, which raises awareness of AIDS and HIV, must have been a conscious move.
AIDS awareness was perhaps most of all, Diana’s cause. It is 30 years since she held the hand of an AIDS sufferer, a simple act which changed attitudes across the world. Yesterday was World AIDS Day and one young woman who appreciated Meghan’s compassion, was Paida Mutopo, who was born with HIV but whose son was, mercifully, born free of the virus.
She said Meghan would be “the perfect princess”.
Paida, 21, said: “She was absolutely lovely. She really took the time to learn about the subject and both Meghan and Price Harry knew exactly what they were talking about.
“I know they’re actively involved in raising awareness. It was a pleasure to be there and meet them both.
“He is a great man carrying on the work of his mother. I feel very privileged to have been there at their first public engagement together and I am so pleased that they chose to highlight HIV today. I am a mother myself, I am proud of my own young son, and I am sure Princess Diana would be pleased to see that Harry and Meghan have chosen to carry on her work and support us so publicly.
“Princess Diana was so passionate about HIV awareness and it seems that Meghan will be too. She will be a perfect princess. She is lovely.”
In the crowd, Phillipa Stark, 31, with daughter Savannah, four, agreed Meghan would carry Diana’s torch.
She said: “She is not fazed, she is much more ready than Diana was.
“She would not attempt to fill Diana’s shoes, but Diana brought a new age of women speaking up for things they believe in – and Meghan will be the same.”