Harry’s new hottie
A DIVORCED US TV STAR
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AS a brunette, an American and a human rights campaigner, Meghan Markle is something of a departure from Prince Harry’s usual type.
But if rumours are to be believed, the pair have been dating for nearly six months after meeting in Canada.
The 35-year-old actress, who is best known for her role as Rachel Zane in US legal drama Suits, is believed to have charmed the Royal when he visited Toronto.
As claims the pair were ‘ besotted’ with each other emerged last night, keen observers spotted pictures of them wearing matching bracelets.
The Prince, 32, also follows the actress on the picture sharing website Instagram using a pseudonym, the Mail can reveal.
Intriguingly, Harry, who publicly professes to hate social media, is one of her million followers and she also follows him.
The revelation is telling because the Prince has a private account and only ‘follows’ a few close friends and charities, suggesting the pair know each other fairly well.
They are believed to have met in Toronto in May this year where the Los Angeles-born actress is based and Suits is filmed.
Harry was in the city to promote his Invictus Games for wounded servicemen and met the actress.
And it seems she has repaid the visit. Miss Markle recently posted pictures of two recent trips to London, including a view that appears to be of Kensington, where Harry lives.
She also posted a picture of herself at celebrity retreat, Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire with a distinctive beaded bracelet.
Harry, who is often dubbed the world’s most eligible bachelor, was pictured wearing a nearly identical one in April this year. He often wears bracelets associated with his charity work, but his latest has no known connection. It may be it has personal meaning and he may have given
‘She’s not overawed mixing with royalty’
a similar one to Miss Markle recently as it has only just started appearing on her Instagram.
She also went to Wimbledon and Buckingham Palace this year coinciding with a period when Harry was in London.
Miss Markle is also a successful businesswoman and runs a website called The Tig, which specialises in food, travel, fashion and beauty.
But despite their very different lifestyles, the pair have much in common – both have a fondness for Africa and humanitarian work.
Miss Markle visited Rwanda to work on a clean water project earlier this year in her role as a global ambassador for World Vision Canada. She was recently appointed an Advocate for Women for the United Nations and spoke in front of UN secretary general Ban Ki-moon.
She has also travelled to Afghanistan to support US forces and their families.
Both she and Harry both reportedly like yoga and the Prince is increasingly keen to establish his humanitarian credentials.
Miss Markle has spoken of her desire to study international affairs in the future.
A source close to the Prince, who is fifth-inline to the throne, told The Express that he is ‘besotted’ with the star. ‘He’s happier than he’s been for many years,’ they said. ‘He’s in a very relaxed period of his life and Meghan has come along at the right time.
‘They are taking each week as it comes and just enjoying each other’s company but it’s fair to say that they love seeing each other and there’s a definite chemistry between them.’
According to reports, she has dined with Harry when in London and has met his friends. She stayed with him at Kensington Palace and met the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, according to the Express.
‘William and Kate really liked her and she fitted in straight away,’ the source added. ‘Meghan is a very confident and intelligent woman and she’s not overawed mixing with royalty.’
Miss Markle marks a change in Harry’s taste in women, as he tends to go for society blondes. She’s also no shrinking violet. Her Suits character – a legal assistant – is filmed in one scene in her bra as she consummates her relationship with junior partner Mike Ross in the office store room.
Harry’s first – and most serious relationship – was with Zimbabwean designer Chelsy Davy, with whom he had a tempestuous seven-year relationship. Dancer and actress Cressida Bonas was his most recent long- term girlfriend but the couple split after two years in 2014.
Miss Markle is older than him – an attractive quality as the Prince has often spoken of his desire to commit and start a family like his brother.
The actress has lived in Toronto for several years. She married her long-term boyfriend, film producer Trevor Engelson, 40, in Jamaica in 2011, but the couple split after just two years. It is believed that they have divorced.
She later dated a leading Toronto chef, but now lives with just her two rescue dogs Bogart and Guy.
The daughter of an African-American mother and a father of Dutch and Irish descent, Miss Markle spent time on film sets as a child.
Her father Thomas was a cinematographer, and worked on the hit US sitcom Married With Children. She graduated from Northwestern University, where she studied theatre and international relations, and worked for the US Embassy in Buenos Aires.
The actress initially worked as a freelance calligrapher, once writing invitations to singer Robin Thicke’s wedding, before getting the role in Suits which has made her a house- hold name in the US. Kensington Palace refused to comment on the reports yesterday, but sources said the claims had a ‘ring of truth’.
Kruger Cowne, representatives of the actress, said the romance was still ‘ unofficial’. A spokesman added: ‘However, should this be confirmed by the Palace, all of us at Kruger Cowne are delighted for them and wish them well.’