Candid photographs have emerged showing Meghan Markle on holiday in Italy a month after her first date with Prince Harry.
Posted on Instagram by her best friend Jessica Mulroney, we see the two women sipping cocktails at sunset and having fun in the sun on the Amalfi coast.
Meghan’s holiday to Positano was one of her last jaunts as a single girl before her engagement – and she is unlikely to have the same freedom to go on girlie trips once she is married.
Since then Harry has taken Meghan on a romantic holiday to Africa, which he calls his ‘spiritual home’ and to a wedding in Jamaica. Their next holiday will be their honeymoon.
The extraordinary holiday snaps from Jessica show the close friendship between the Royal bride-to-be and the woman considered to be her unofficial wedding planner.
They give an insight into Meghan’s relationship with the stylist dubbed Canada’s Gwyneth Paltrow, as they spent time together in the build up to Meghan and Harry’s engagement.
Canadian Jessica will be flying in to be with Meghan when she ties the knot at Windsor Castle on May 19.
It is a friendship which has gone from strength to strength since Meghan, then a young ingenue, moved to Toronto in 2011 to play the role of Rachel Zane in the TV show Suits.
By then Jessica, 37, was married to Ben Mulroney, son of former Canadian prime minister Brian Mulroney and one of Canada’s top television presenters, and mingled with the cream of Toronto society.
She introduced Meghan, 36, to her social circle, which included Canada’s First Lady Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, the wife of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who has been invaluable in offering Meghan advice on how to deal with fame.
They reportedly went on nights out to the rooftop bar at private members’ club Soho House, run by mutual friend Markus Anderson. Since then they have been to watch a Toronto Blue Jays baseball match together, holidayed in Italy and Meghan has taught Jessica’s daughter to dance.
‘Jessica helped Meghan with her wardrobe and introduced her to the right people,’ one of their circle said.
‘Meghan adores Jessica, not just as a friend but also as someone whose taste and style are impeccable. Meghan looks up to Jessica and has, to a certain degree, modelled herself on her.’
Unlike Meghan, the former Jessica Brownstein, came from a privileged background as a member of Canada’s Browns shoes dynasty, which is worth a reported £50 million.
She attended an exclusive all-girls’ school, before going to McGill University, where she studied industrial relations and economics. She then launched her own business importing luxury lingerie.
After a successful career as a stylist – with her own TV slot – and wedding planner, she was propelled to the A list in 2008 after marrying the eldest son of Brian Mulroney.
The couple has three children: twins Brian and John, now seven, and daughter Ivy now four, who are rumoured to be page boys and flower girl at the Royal wedding.
Jessica and Meghan bonded over their shared passion for yoga, Pilates, dogs and philanthropy. They are so close that she has been dubbed ‘Meghan’s girl Friday’ – Meghan describes herself as ‘Aunty Meg’ to her three children.
Jessica first came to public attention in November 2015 when she styled Sophie for Justin Trudeau’s inauguration: she wore a cream wrap coat by Canadian designer Sentaler, a favourite of Meghan.
‘She needed a few things to wear and was so busy,’ Mulroney said afterwards. ‘I was in Toronto, so I sent her some options. She wore a coat by Canadian designer Sentaler and people went crazy for it. We had created this media frenzy, like you see with anything Kate wears.’
But it was only after Meghan began dating Prince Harry in 2016 that Mulroney became a global name. It was in her house that the couple sought refuge when news of their relationship broke.
Then, last September, as speculation of an engagement reached fever pitch, Mulroney was in a box with Meghan, her mother Doria, and Markus Anderson, for the closing ceremony of the Invictus Games.
Harry joined them for the final 20 minutes of the show, standing arm in arm with Meghan and planting a kiss on her check as they watched Bryan Adams sing love songs.
And, when Harry and Meghan got engaged last November, Mulroney was credited with orchestrating the outfit – a white wrap coat by The Line, PAROSH green dress and Aquazzura nude pumps.
She is also believed to be the brains behind Meghan’s outfits for many of her official engagements and is instrumental in helping her choose her wedding dress.
The couple had a dress rehearsal on Suits when Jessica helped her choose the Anne Barge Versailles dress from Jessica’s Kleinfeld Canada bridal boutique when her Suits character Rachel Zane was supposed to marry Mike Ross – only for him to leave her at the altar.
She flew to London in January to attend the first fitting and was in London in April when Meghan had her final fitting. Mulroney jetted into Heathrow for a ‘mini hen party’ and was given a sneak preview of the dress and the wedding venue.
She has been so successful in helping Meghan create her ‘effortless chic’ style that Vogue, editor Edward Enninful believes she could eclipse the Duchess of Cambridge. ‘Ms Markle is an astonishing fashion sales force, who is setting the industry alight,’ he said recently.
A royal source said: ‘Jessica is Meghan’s BFF (best friend forever) and has been a huge influence. Meghan’s turned to her for advice on everything from the dress, the flowers, decorations in church, the wedding lunch — and even the seating plan.
‘Although Jess lives in Toronto, the two are on the phone all the time. Meg wanted Jess at the final fitting as it’ll be the most famous dress of the year and she’s quite nervous about it. It all went really well and they were delighted with the result.’
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Source: USA Today
