Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Harry’s girlfriend looks set to meet the royal parents
LONDON: Prince Harry’s girlfriend Meghan Markle is not – yet – a princess but yesterday the Daily Mail online reported that the Americanborn actress was spotted at Kensington Palace.
She was also seen shopping on Kensington High Street, just down the road from the palace.
It is believed that she is staying with Harry at his bijou home, Nottingham Cottage, which used to be occupied by Prince William and Kate.
And after a shopping expedition at Whole Foods store, the 35-year-old returned to the palace with two bulging shopping bags.
Shoppers did a doubletake as Markle, who Harry revealed this week he had been seeing for “a few months” went around buying what, to them, may have looked like last night’s supper.
Next door William hosted a star-studded party for homeless charity Centrepoint.
The Duke of Cambridge was without his wife, Kate, for the black tie event, also attended by Liz Hurley and record producer Nile Rodgers, but Phil Collins pulled out of a performance because of illness.
Harry was not expected to attend the event – but had he done so it could have been awkward because his rumoured ex-girlfriend Ellie Goulding was the star of the show.
Markle staying with Harry in London, the report said, was the clearest indication yet that the relationship between the divorcee and the fifth in line to the throne is “serious”.
And the timing of Markle’s visit is hugely significant, not least because it appears she was in the UK when Harry publicly declared his love for her.
She is taking time off from filming her popular US legal drama Suits to be with him, telling her producers she had “something important” to do.
Some reports suggested this may have been to see her lawyers after Harry’s extraordinary statement confirming their relationship catapulted her into the media spotlight – and of course maybe she did.
It seems more likely, however, that it concerned her decision to fly to London to see her royal beau.
At the time of her trip to the shops, Harry, 32, was at a solemn ceremony at the Field of Remembrance outside Westminster Abbey.
Well-placed sources have told the Mail online that contrary to speculation, the actress had not met William and Kate previously.
But Harry’s brother is in residence as he undertakes official duties in London, meaning it is inevitable that the two will have been introduced.
Prince Charles is flying back from Bahrain and will be in London over the weekend with his wife, Camilla. And the queen and Prince Philip will be in London for the next few days too. Harry could introduce his girlfriend to his entire family.
For someone who divides her time between her home in California and Toronto, where Suits is filmed, Markle certainly looked as though she knew her way around the busy West London thoroughfare.
This suggests it is not the first time she has stayed with him.
In his strongly worded statement this week, Harry accused the media of intrusion and lashed out at the “sexism and racism of social media trolls”. His message, via his communications secretary Jason Knauf, was that their relationship “is not a game – it is her life and his”.
The statement added that Harry was “worried about Miss Markle’s safety” and “deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her”. In the circumstances it is rather surprising that she was unaccompanied.
The royal romance was revealed less than a fortnight ago after they were given away by matching friendship bracelets both have worn for months.
On Thursday she was wearing the distinctive beaded bracelet as she strolled back to the palace with her purchases. The bracelet has often featured in photographs Markle – who shares Harry’s fondness for Africa and humanitarian work – has posted on social media.
The actress appears to have spent a lot of time in the UK over the past months, posting pictures from London to her one million Instagram followers in June, July, August and September.
She was seen in the players’ box at Wimbledon on June 28 – the same day Harry appeared on stage with Coldplay in West London. Just before the story broke, Harry flew to Canada and reportedly stayed at her Toronto home.
This week royal insiders admitted that her presence at his home indicates that the relationship is serious: “To come and go at a royal home is a concrete sign that they have become extremely close.”