A princess in waiting
Actress will shake up royals
PERFECT FIT FOR PRINCE HARRY
paralegal Rachel Zane in hit US series Suits.
But Ninaki Priddy, who was best friends with the star since they were two, is cynical about her rise to fame.
She said: “Meg always wanted to be famous. She just loved to be the centre of attention. We used to imagine her receiving an Oscar. She used to practise announcing herself.
“All I can say now is that I think Meghan was very calculated in how she handled people and relationships.
“She is very strategic in the way she cultivates circles of friends.
“Once she decides you’re not part of her life, she can be very cold.”
Ninaki knows how being shut out feels, just like film producer Trevor Engelson when his three-year marriage to Meghan ended in divorce, due to irreconcilable differences.
Meghan was raised by her mum Doria Ragland, a yoga instructor and social worker described by Prince Harry as “amazing”, from a young age after the divorce from lighting director Thomas Markle.
As the daughter of a caucasian man and an African American mum, Meghan struggled with her mixedrace roots. In an essay for magazine Elle UK in 2015, she recalled how a teacher told her to tick the box for caucasian on a form: “Because that’s how you look, Meghan.”
The star wrote: “I put down my pen. Not as an act of defiance, but rather a symptom of my confusion.” The experience stayed with Meghan and has encouraged her to speak out for ethnic minorities and women.
She said: “Some households may never have had a black person in their house as a guest, or someone bi-racial. Well, now there are a lot of us on your TV and in your home.”
She has remained close to both of her parents, previously publicly crediting her dad on social media for her “work ethic” and her “signature Markle nose”. But pictures have emerged showing it’s not all work for the star.
Shots of her posing in an unbuttoned top, aged 21, draped over a good looking young man at her graduation are far more risque than the catwalk picture of a young Kate Middleton at the University of St Andrews.
Her wedding to Harry at Windsor castle in May is likely to be a far less formal affair than Kate’s big day. Friends are also already talking about superstars Adele and Elton John as possible performers at the ceremony.
Meghan may break with royal traditions that some will find difficult to swallow but it was Princess Diana who first blurred the lines between royalty and celebrity.
She introduced her sons to a world of showbiz pals from a young age so it is perhaps unsurprising that Harry is attracted to a fun-loving, confident, beautiful woman who shares so many of his mum’s traits.
For all those who see Meghan’s public displays of affection, her ease in the spotlight and outspoken personality as unfitting of a royal, her celebrity status and relatable past may well be the making of her.
On Friday, thousands waited patiently in Nottingham to see the newly engaged couple at their first official engagement. Harry may just have found the perfect fit.