Toffs v celebs in godparents race
LIKE any young couple having their first child after moving out of London, Harry and Meghan will need a support network of friends and family to help them adjust to becoming parents. Who will help raise Meghan and Harry’s new son? Who will be godparents?
THE STRAIGHT-TALKING COUSIN
Harry’s cousin Zara and her husband Mark Tindall are favourites. Harry and Zara were known as royal rebels, and Harry was asked to be godfather to their 10-month-old daughter, Lena. If Meghan needs parenting advice, or to arrange a play date for the cousins, Zara’s Gatcombe Park estate will be a port of call.
THE CANADIAN STAR STYLIST
Hot favourite as godparent is one of Meghan’s oldest friends, Jessica Mulroney, 39, who is famous in her home country of Canada for styling celebrities for weddings and TV. She has twins sons, Brian and John, eight, as well as daughter Ivy, five.
THE OLD FRIEND FROM COLLEGE
TV producer and author Lindsay Roth, 36, got to know Meghan when they were undergraduates at Northwestern University. The pair remain close.
THE RED-HAIRED WELSH GUARD
Among Harry’s long-standing chums, known as Club H, one couple staying on top are Mark Dyer and his wife Amanda. The red-haired former Welsh Guards officer, 53, was equerry to Prince Charles tasked with keeping an eye on young Harry. The pair stayed close when Mark founded a chain of gastro-pubs in West London, where Harry and Meghan sometimes went on secret dates during their courtship.
LA LAWYER WHO SELLS VITAMINS
Meghan is godmother to her close friend Benita Litt’s daughters Remi, seven, and Rylan, eight, who were flower girls at her wedding. Meghan met Litt when she was an entertainment attorney in California.
She has set up a business as a branding expert and runs bag company, Legend of Lido. Meghan will probably turn to Litt for nutrition advice – the mother of two has set up a vitamin brand for children.
ETONIAN STILL IN THE FOLD
Harry’s old Etonian friend Jake Warren and his wife Zoe Inez Stewart are im the fold.
Jake, 33, is one of Diana, Princess of Wales’s godchildren, his father John is the queen’s racing manager. He and his son run Highclere Stud, down the road from Meghan and Harry, in Newbury, Berkshire.
Meghan has much in common with Jake’s wife Zoe, 35, whose father is the heir of the Earl of Galloway. Like Meghan, Zoe is yoga mad.
WELL-CONNECTED COUTURIER
Designer Misha Nonoo helped introduce Meghan to Harry. Nonoo and her Harvard-educated businessman boyfriend attended the Royal Wedding together.
A ROYAL BRIDE FROM MONTREAL
Meghan is friendly with Zara’s sisterin-law, Autumn Phillips, 40. They have plenty in common as Phillips moved from Canada to the UK to marry her husband Peter Phillips 11 years ago.
The couple also married at St George’s Chapel, Windsor.
Peter runs sports and events management company SEL UK. Harry has moved into similar territory by setting up the Invictus Games.
THE COUPLE WITH SHOWBIZ LINKS
Another close couple close are Harry’s old friends Nicholas and Alice Van Cutsem. Their threeyear-old daughter Florence was a bridesmaid. Nicholas is a former major with the Life Guards and works in business development. He and Harry are childhood friends.
WILL TIGGY MAKE A COMEBACK?
Harry is grateful to his nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke, 54, for giving him the kind of gung-ho childhood he needed. She runs a B&B in the Brecon Beacons, with her two children, two stepchildren and menagerie of animals.
She welcomes children as overnight guests, saying she has “no rules and regulations”.
THE KING OF SOHO HOUSE
Meghan’s close friend Markus Anderson, 41, is a global consultant for the elite private members’ club Soho House.
Before Harry arrived on the scene, Anderson regularly featured on Meghan’s Instagram pages. Canadian Markus is also a favourite of Meghan’s mother Doria.
TENNIS CHAMPION AND LUNCH PAL
As a long-time confidante of the Duchess, Serena Williams has been supportive during Meghan’s pregnancy, with the former Wimbledon champion recently saying they are “relying on each other a lot”.
AMERICAN TV CHEERLEADERS
A journalist who has the scoop on the royal baby is Meghan’s new confidante, US TV anchorwoman Gayle King, 64, who has been “popping in” to see Meghan while filming a “royal special”. King is also editor-at-large of Oprah Winfrey’s magazine O. She attended Meghan’s baby shower in February.
THE HOLLYWOOD POWER COUPLE
George and Amal Clooney, who have twins, Ella and Alexander, almost two, live at Sonning-on-Thames and can recommend the best childfriendly places. Harry and Meghan have been to stay with the Clooneys at their Lake Como mansion in Italy.