TOFFS V CELEBS IN GODPARENT RACE
After THAT starry wedding — meet contenders for greatest society prize of them all
THEY may be royal. But 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.
Certainly, while some old acquaintances are staying in the fold, many members of Meghan’s circle will help make this royal baby boy’s childhood feel very different from the one Harry experienced.
so who will on hand to help raise Meghan and Harry’s new son? And, crucially, who will be the godparents?
THE STRAIGHTTALKING COUSIN
ALTHOUGH the Royals tend to pick friends rather than relatives, Harry’s cousin Zara and her husband Mark tindall are hot favourites. Harry and Zara were once known as fellow royal rebels and Harry was recently asked to be godfather to the the couple’s ten-month- old daughter, Lena.
Harry and Meghan may also look to how Zara and her rugby star husband are breaking with royal tradition in raising their family.
Former rugby star Mike says he is not planning to send his children to boarding school.
Indeed, sources say Meghan may already be taking a leaf out of their book by considering an American school near their Berkshire home so her son can have a more international education. And if Meghan needs any parenting advice, or to arrange a play date for the young cousins, Zara’s Gatcombe Park estate will be a port of call.
THE CANADIAN STAR STYLIST
TRADITIONALLY, royal parents choose between six and eight godparents.
so there’s plenty of opportunities for Meghan’s old friends to cement their royal status — and hot favourite is one of Meghan’s oldest friends, Jessica Mulroney.
Jessica, 39, is famous in her home country of Canada for styling celebrities for weddings and TV.
they met on the set of Meghan’s TV show suits while filming in toronto and bonded through their shared love of yoga and fashion.
Jessica has twins sons, Brian and John, eight, as well as daughter Ivy, five. the children are already social media stars in their own right, with Jessica’s pictures and videos on her Instagram page clocking up 20,000 likes.
Jessica married into the family of former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney when she wed his TV presenter son Ben in 2007.
THE OLD FRIEND FROM COLLEGE
MANY of Meghan’s oldest pals are in the U.s. But she does have one old college friend closer at hand — who also has a young son.
TV producer and author Lindsay Roth, 36, got to know Meghan when they were undergraduates at Northwestern University studying english Literature. she later wrote a book called What Pretty Girls Are Made Of, about an aspiring actress making her way. It was clearly a flattering portrait as the pair remain close, especially now Lindsay has married englishman Gavin Jordan, a corporate finance specialist based in London.
THE RED-HAIRED WELSH GUARD
INTIMATES say that Meghan has already helped to ‘shuffle the pack’ of Harry’s long- standing chums, known as Club H.
However, one couple staying firmly 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. He left the royal household when Harry started his officer training at sandhurst, but 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.
Mark is married to glamorous texan heiress Amanda Kline, which means she has more in common with Meghan than some of the British aristo wives.
LA LAWYER WHO SELLS VITAMINS
MEGHAN is already godmother to her close friend Benita Litt’s two daughters Remi, seven, and Rylan, eight, who were flower girls at her wedding.
Meghan met Benita when she was an entertainment attorney in California. she has since set up a business as a branding expert ‘ working to help celebrities, entrepreneurs, and young brands develop and protect their brand and reach their target audience’.
she also runs a bag company — Legend of Lido — and Meghan has been seen sporting her designs.
It’s likely that Meghan will turn to Benita for nutrition advice for her baby. the mother of two — who lives in California — has now set up a vitamin brand for children
which she says are made with ‘100 per cent fresh ingredients’.
ETONIAN STILL IN THE FOLD
While some of harry’s old etonian friends have become more distant since Meghan’s arrival, Jake Warren and his wife Zoe inez Stewart are still very much in the fold.
But Jake, 33, has an impressive pedigree. Not only is he one of Diana, Princess of Wales’ godchildren, his father John is the Queen’s racing manager and 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 stunning blonde wife Zoe, 35, even though her father is the heir of the earl of Galloway.
like Meghan, Zoe is yoga mad, having trained as a power yoga instructor and taught at Chelsea’s exclusive harbour Club.
WELL-CONNECTED COUTURIER
it’S widely believed that designer Misha Nonoo helped introduce Meghan to harry. Until 2016, Misha was married to Alexander Gilkes, co-founder of art auction house Paddle8, who is one of harry’s old eton friends.
Now split from Alexander, Misha and her harvard-educated businessman boyfriend attended the Royal Wedding together.
AND THE OTHERS IN MEGHAN’S CIRCLE
APART from potential godparents, there is an outer circle of friends that harry and Meghan can turn to . . .
A ROYAL BRIDE FROM MONTREAL
MEGHAN is not the only royal to have crossed the Atlantic. She is also friendly with Zara’s sister-inlaw, Autumn Phillips, 40.
they have plenty in common as Autumn 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 from an address near Buckingham Palace — and harry has moved into similar territory by setting up the invictus Games.
THE COUPLE WITH SHOWBIZ LINKS
ANOTHER couple staying close are harry’s old friends Nicholas and Alice Van Cutsem, as evidenced by the fact their threeyearold daughter Florence was also a bridesmaid.
Nicholas is a former major with the life Guards, who now works in business development, and has been friends with harry since childhood. Alice’s brother, actor harry hadden- Paton, has appeared in the Crown and Downton Abbey.
WILL TIGGY MAKE A COMEBACK?
HARRY is still grateful to his old nanny tiggy legge-Bourke, 54, for giving him the kind of gung-ho childhood he needed.
Now married to former Coldstream Guards officer, Charles Pettifer, she runs a cosy £100-anight B&B in the Brecon Beacons, with her two children, two stepchildren and menagerie of animals, which she describes as ‘ the tiggy experience’.
She warmly 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, Markus regularly featured on Meghan’s instagram pages.
Canadian Markus is also a favourite of Meghan’s mother Doria and he has been pictured putting a protective arm around the 62-year-old at public events.
TENNIS CHAMPION AND LUNCH PAL
AS A long-time confidante of the Duchess, Serena Williams has been a constant support during Meghan’s pregnancy, with the former Wimbledon champion recently saying they are ‘really kind of relying on each other a lot’. Meghan also sees Serena, 37, as a ‘down to earth chick i [am] able to grab lunch with’ and with whom she can chat about ‘good old fashioned girly stuff’.
AMERICAN TV CHEERLEADERS
ONE journalist who has the scoop on the royal baby is Meghan’s new confidante, U.S. TV anchorwoman Gayle King, 64, who has been ‘popping in’ to see Meghan while filming a ‘royal special’.
Gayle is also editor-at-large of oprah Winfrey’s magazine o, and popped up as one of 20 intimates who attended the Duchess’s New york baby shower in February.
Gayle and oprah have become a cheerleading double act in praising Meghan, so expect to see a lot more of them on UK TV.
THE HOLLYWOOD POWER COUPLE
TWO more allies living just along the thames are George and Amal Clooney. the pair, who have twins, ella and Alexander, almost two, have lived at Sonning-on-thames for the past three years and can recommend the best child-friendly places for the Sussexes.
Meghan and Amal also share a hairdresser, Miguel Perez, whose mantra is ‘with great hair comes great responsibility’ — a lesson both women appear to live by.
the couples are so friendly that harry and Meghan have also been to stay with the Clooneys at their lake Como mansion in italy.
however, George has laughed off the idea that he will be asked to be a godfather, saying: ‘oh yes, i’ll be the godfather of the royals apparently,’ before following up with a quick: ‘No!’
KEEPING MEGHAN GROUNDED . . .
Not all Meghan’s old friends are stylists or linked to showbusiness. Genevieve hillis became friends with Meghan while at Northwestern University when they both were members of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority.
Meghan graduated in 2003 with a double major in international studies and theatre.
Genevieve, 37, is now head of government affairs at Direct Supply, a company that sells services and medical supplies to the elderly, which is owned by her father in Milwaukee.
Although blonde Genevieve keeps a lower profile than most of Meghan’s circle, they are clearly close as she sat with Meghan’s mother Doria on the left side of St George’s Chapel during the Royal Wedding last May.
At the reception, Genevieve also helped sing the sorority wedding anthem, traditionally sung when members get married.
Meghan met texan-born former dancer heather Dorak, 37, the founder of LA’s fastest growing Pilates studio, when Meghan was an up-and-coming actress in LA. heather was also a guest at the Royal Wedding.