Meghan Markle’s former friend and agent tells of how she knew of her dating Prince Harry
AN ex-agent and close friend of Meghan Markle told of her final words before they parted ways, as others reveal more wedding details.
A FORMER agent and close friend of Meghan Markle has revealed the words she left the royal bride-to-be with, before they parted ways.
Gina Nelthorpe Cowne told Nine’s A Current Affair that she was also one of the first people to know of Markle’s first date with Prince Harry back in 2016.
Prince Harry, 33, and Los Angeles-born Markle, 36, met for the first time in London in July 2016, when they were introduced by a mutual friend, Markle confirmed in an interview with Vanity Fair.
In November 2016, Kensington Palace confirmed the Suits actress was the Prince’s girlfriend, with a bold statement adding that he was concerned for her safety due to the high media attention surrounding their relationship.
Ms Nelthorpe Cowne, who has been working as a high-profile talent manager for more than 20 years, recalled that Markle told her “she was going on a date tonight”.
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When asked by Ms Nelthorpe Cowne if she knew who, Markle replied: “I’m sure you do. I’m meeting Prince Harry.”
It was not long before Markle ended their friendship after things “got serious” with Prince Harry.
In one of the last conversations Ms Nelthorpe Cowne had with Markle, she said: “My goodness, I said to her, do you know what you’re letting yourself in for?”
Her comments come as Paul Burrell, the former butler of the late Pricness Diana also shared his final thoughts on Markle and Harry’s upcoming royal nuptials on Saturday at Windsor Castle.
He described Prince Harry as “the people’s prince”.
“He and Meghan are accessible, you can almost touch them,” he said.
“Let’s not forget he’s Diana’s boy, I think she would be very proud of the man her little boy has become.”
Royal biographer Andrew Morton, who has just released his new book, ‘Meghan: A Hollywood Princess’, also weighed in, saying wedding preparations have been “rackety”.
He referred to the invitation of Markle’s father Thomas, who has been caught co-operating with a paparazzi photographer who captured photos of him preparing for his daughter’s wedding to Prince Harry.
Witnesses have also told how the photos of him being measured for a suit were stage-managed with the help of the photographer, and Mr Markle had brought along his own props, including a tape-measure.
It lead to Mr Markle’s bombshell decision to pull out of the royal wedding so as to not risk embarrassing his daughter further.
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The bride-to-be remains close with divorced parents Tom Markle and Doria Ragland but other relatives have been barred from the May 19 nuptials amid unwelcome stories of bust-ups, heavy drinking — and even an arrest.
Markle, who grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of Woodland Hills, will no longer be walked down the aisle by her 73-year-old father, an Emmy-winning Hollywood lighting director of Dutch-Irish descent who is enjoying retired life in Mexico.
He reportedly put Markle through Hollywood’s most exclusive schools and the private Northwestern University in Illinois after winning $750,000 in the state lottery in 1990.
He met Harry in Toronto in mid-2016 and took to the prince immediately, describing him on a video obtained by British tabloid The Sun as “a gentleman.”
Markle’s mother, a 61-year-old African-American yoga instructor and clinical therapist, met Tom while working as an assistant make-up artist at “General Hospital.”
MORE: Who is the real Meghan Markle?
The Ohio native has been through her own financial woes, according to the Daily Mail, which reported that she filed for bankruptcy in 2002 with assets of just $10,400 and credit card debts of $58,000.
“While my mixed heritage may have created a grey area surrounding my self-identification, keeping me with a foot on both sides of the fence, I have come to embrace that,” Markle wrote in a 2015 essay for Elle magazine about being bi-racial.
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She and Prince Harry revealed in an interview with BBC they’d spent much time with Ragland ahead of their engagement. “Her mum’s amazing!” enthused Harry, who is sixth in line to the British throne.
The news comes as scant details of the menu for the reception after the wedding slowly emerged.
It will feature a bonanza of British produce.
Royal chef Mark Flanagan said Monday many of the dishes will be made from seasonal produce, including many from estates belonging to Queen Elizabeth II. Harry and Markle have personally tasted all the menu items ahead of Saturday’s wedding, though details have not been announced.
The food will be produced at the royal kitchens at Windsor Castle in the coming days. Asparagus, artichokes, peas, broad beans and chocolate truffles are all on the menu.
Some 600 guests are expected at the reception immediately following the ceremony.
Flanagan says the wedding timing is ideal because British vegetables are coming into season.
He says the recent spate of warm spring weather has helped meet the couple’s goals of relying extensively on British produce.
Bridebook UK founder and CEO Hamish Shephard told ACA no expense would be spared for their wedding.
He said that the flowers would cost around $A200,000, and security would be around $A45-55 million.
For the cost of 2,300 bottles of vintage champagne, it would be a quarter to half a million pounds, or up to $A900,000.
He also said that the cost of serving sausage rolls outside the chapel for the 26,000 public guests would be about $A40-50,000.
Originally published as Meghan Markle’s former friend and agent tells of how she knew of her dating Prince Harry
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