Posing in front of the Palace, the 15-year-old who’s about to become a princess
Royal tour: Meghan Markle, left, and her friend Ninaki Priddy pose outside Buckingham Palace during a trip to Europe 21 years ago
THIS stunning photo shows Meghan Markle’s astonishing rise from teenage fan of the monarchy to member of the Royal Family.
Posing outside Buckingham Palace, the 15-year-old American tourist could not have known she would enter its gates 21 years later as the fiancée of a prince.
The remarkable image – taken during a European summer trip in 1996 – emerged the day after the announcement of her engagement to Harry. One person says she saw it coming and has warned the prince to be cautious.
‘I’m not shocked at all,’ said Miss Markle’s childhood best friend Ninaki Priddy. ‘It’s like she has been planning this all her life.
‘She gets exactly what she wants and Harry has fallen for her play. She was always fascinated by the Royal Family. She wants to be Princess Diana 2.0. She will play her role ably, but my advice to him is to tread cautiously.’
In a dramatic series of announcements about the couple’s wedding plans yesterday, Kensington Palace revealed:
Miss Markle will apply to become a British citizen after she marries;
Harry and the divorcée will wed in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in May;
Miss Markle, whose father is an Episcopalian, will be baptised and confirmed in the Church of England before the wedding;
The couple say their big day will also be ‘fun and joyful’ – to match their personalities;
The wedding is likely to be televised with the public involved, possibly by ballot;
The Queen and Prince Charles will foot the bill – not Meghan’s once bankrupt parents – with the bride and groom in charge of arrangements;
Miss Markle will undertake her first royal engagements in Nottingham on Friday;
The couple will carry out their first official walkabout together and meet groups working in the fields of Aids and young people;
The former actress will then embark on an intensive six-month ‘tour’ of Britain to get to know her adopted country;
Separately, Theresa May defended her decision not to grant a wedding bank holiday.
Miss Priddy and ‘Meg’ Markle met aged two at a prestigious kindergarten in Hollywood and became inseparable.
‘We were sisters, everyone knew that,’ said the 36-year-old jewellery designer. ‘We would be hand in hand, everywhere.’
Meghan’s father Thomas was a lighting director on popular US TV shows such as Married with Children and General Hospital.
From an early age, Meghan visited those sets and decided fame suited her, Miss Priddy said – laying the foundations for ‘Princess Pushy’ as she later became known.
The remarkable picture of Meghan outside Buckingham Palace is part of an exclusive set of images given to us by Miss Priddy and which covers her school days, college life and first wedding.
These glorious pictures can be seen in full in a 24-page glossy magazine given away free with Saturday’s Daily Mail.
‘She gets exactly what she wants’