…and just who was the dapper chaperone sitting next to her?
with the world watching her every move, Meghan Markle made sure she had her best friend by her side at the invictus Games.
She sat next to Markus Anderson, the toronto-based consultant for private members clubs Soho house who is said to have introduced Miss Markle to Prince harry.
Dubbed the ‘ King of Soho house’, Anderson’s long list of high-profile friends includes Fifty Shades Of Grey actor Jamie Dornan, tV host Cat Deeley and model Alexa Chung.
he is also close to Miss Markle’s stylist friend Jessica Mulroney, the daughterin-law of former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney.
Anderson is from Peterborough in Ontario – about 80 miles from his current home of toronto – and moved to London when he was 19, taking a job as a waiter at Soho house.
he worked his way up to global membership director, sent out to cities where Soho house is opening branches to identify who should be given entry. he has previously said: ‘when Soho house decides to open in a new city, i’m one of the first people sent out to get to know the city, the creatives that live there, and determine who we want to involve in the house.’ he and Miss Markle, who films tV show Suits in toronto, became close when he moved to the city in 2012 to help open a Soho house branch.
A lover of tom Ford aftershave, cashmere sweaters, Alexander McQueen and Yves Saint Laurent, he shares her interest in fashion. in 2014 he was named 48th in a list of toronto’s most influential people and in recent years he helped set up clubs in Chicago, Los Angeles, Mumbai, Barcelona and istanbul.
Soho house member harry is said to have met Miss Markle when she was on holiday in Europe in summer last year with fashion designer Misha Nonoo and Anderson. As the romance blossomed, it was conducted in Soho houses around the world.
there was a secret weekend away at Soho Farmhouse last autumn, while the pair also made an appearance at a halElegant: loween party at Soho house in toronto.