Is this royal bride-to-be Meghan in a CROWN?
Enchanting birthday party video shows royal bride-to-be playing Queen for a day... and, yes, she’s wearing a CROWN!
IT WOULD take another 26 years for her to fall in love with her real-life prince but these captivating images show a young Meghan Markle playing the fictional ‘Queen’ of a royal household.
Wearing a gold crown, eight-year-old Meghan stars in a childhood play – with her young chums as her princesses and servants.
These charming never-before-seen scenes are taken from an 11-minute video recently found by the mother of Meghan’s best friend of nearly 30 years, Ninaki Priddy.
The video was shot on January 29, 1990 – Ninaki’s ninth birthday – in the back garden of the Priddy family home in LA.
Ninaki, now 37, said last night: ‘The show was called Your Royal Highness and the star was Meg. It’s very funny to see this now and given what is going on with her life it’s quite eye-opening. She was always the centre of attention, always the ringleader – it was my birthday but she took the starring role!’
At the time, the friends were classmates at Hollywood’s Little Red School House. Ninaki says: ‘My parents were in the audio-video industry so we always had a camera around. We would do little videos.’
In the film, as Ninaki’s mother Maria enters the garden with the camera, Meghan says excitedly: ‘You guys, look, we’re on video tape! Come here, you guys!’
She then whispers the plan to the other girls, looks at the camera and mimics a Hollywood ‘clapperboard’ with her arms and says with a flourish: ‘Your Royal Highness, Take One!’
Ninaki says: ‘The royal story came out of the blue, it wasn’t something we had done before. She just came up with it on the spot.’
In the video Meghan sits on a red blanket as another little girl, Melody, comes over and gives a deep bow.
Another child asks: ‘Your Highness, your Highness, isn’t there anything to do around this kingdom any more?’ Meghan replies grandly: ‘Yes, make 900,000 cookies… and sew me a nice dress.’
Another friend asks: “Your Highness, what is this all for?’ to which Queen Meghan responds: ‘It’s for this meeting I’m having. I’m having people from Florida and Canada, Mississippi, Missouri.’
Queen Meghan then motions with her hands and commands: ‘Come on Princess Niki’ [to Ninaki] while moments later she takes a picnic basket and gives it to the ‘servant’ girls saying: ‘I thought you guys might be hungry so here are some cookies.’
When one child asks: ‘Can I go take a walk, your Highness?’ Meghan puts on a grand voice and replies: ‘Yes, you may,’ before shouting ‘Ten minute break!’
Moments later she shouts: ‘Ten minute break is up. Faster sewing! Faster cooking!’
Later, inside the house, when filming starts again Meghan exclaims: ‘Now back to the regularly scheduled programme which is titled ‘Your Royal Highness – take two!’
She then ‘commands’ the girls to go outside (where the light will be better for filming) saying: ‘Follow me girls for my party – come along.’ A friend called Diana exclaims: ‘Your Highness, Your Highness, great party!’ which prompts Meghan to declare: ‘Oh, I’m so glad you are enjoying it.’
Later the girls sing Happy Birthday to Ninaki, with Meghan directly behind the birthday girl, centre stage – as she will be on May 19 when her childish fantasy about becoming a royal will finally come true.
Ten-minute break is up! Faster sewing! Faster cooking! ... and yes, I command you to bow – and ‘make me 900,000 cookies and sew me a nice dress’