Meghan: A Hollywood Princess(60)
Just so he got the point she emphasized: “We’re two people who are really happy and in love.”
There was one troubling sentence amid the startlingly open declaration of love and commitment: “I’m still the same person that I am, and I’ve never defined myself by my relationship.” Perhaps not in the past. But certainly, in her future. Vanity Fair would not have given her a prized cover with the boldface headline SHE’S JUST WILD ABOUT HARRY if she had been simply an actor on a midrange TV drama. The clue was in the title. His title. Whether or not she wanted to embrace the idea, in the future her considerable influence, her ability to make the change, will rest on something she has keenly fought against, namely women gaining power not through their own endeavors but because of whom they marry.
That was a conundrum to ponder another day. For the moment she was going to Botswana, where the internet signal was weak, as she and Harry celebrated her thirty-sixth birthday. The prince was so happy to be returning to his second home that he even gave a thumbs-up to waiting photographers when he was reunited with Meghan at the airport. His gesture sent the media rumor mill churning. Journalists did not know that Meghan and Harry had already visited Botswana, and as William had proposed to Kate in Kenya in 2010, the obvious conclusion was that, during this trip, Harry would get down on one knee. The vacation was romantic enough. The couple once again stayed at the Meno a Kwena camp before driving their rental car on the eight-hour journey to Victoria Falls, one of the natural wonders of the world.
During their visit they stayed at the privately owned Tongabezi Lodge by the Zambesi River, where they were enticed with sunset cruises, romantic sampan (a type of flat-bottomed boat) dinners, and early morning game drives. They even had their own valet to cater for their every whim.
At the end of the holiday, though speculation was at fever pitch about a royal engagement, Meghan made herself scarce when Princes William and Harry together with the Duchess of Cambridge marked the twentieth anniversary of Diana’s death with a visit to the White Garden at Kensington Palace, which had been specially planted with her favorite flowers. They then met representatives of charities supported by the late princess.
The drumbeat of marital speculation grew ever louder, especially when it was learned that in early September Meghan had returned the Audi she leased while living in Toronto, innocently stating that she was “moving to London in November.”
The critical test was the Invictus Games, which began in her adopted city, Toronto, on September 23. Harry’s own baby had grown into a mini-Olympics featuring 550 competitors from seventeen countries taking part in twelve sports. It was hardly surprising when he chose that week for Meghan to make her debut on the world stage as a potential royal bride. Just before the Games began, Harry visited the set of Suits with Meghan, who introduced him to her costars, the scriptwriters, and the crew.
“Meghan showed him around and everyone was so excited. He’s incredibly supportive of her work,” a member of the cast was quoted as saying.
At the opening ceremony in the Air Canada Centre, Harry sat with First Lady Melania Trump, Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau, and Ukraine’s president Petro Poroshenko. As was widely anticipated, Meghan was in the crowd accompanied by her Canadian-born friend Markus Anderson, who had previously been so instrumental in helping arrange Meghan and Harry’s first date. Wearing a purple dress and matching leather jacket slung over her shoulders, Meghan seemed comfortable and relaxed. Though she was not in the VIP section, the presence of a Scotland Yard bodyguard sitting near her was a sign that her days on the outside were numbered.
She listened intently as Harry told the audience of competitors, their friends and families: “You are all winners, and don’t forget that you are proving to the world that anything is possible.”
As Toronto sweltered in a heat wave with temperatures nudging 35°C (95°F), the burning question was when would they be seen together. It was hot topic number one.
Two days after the opening ceremony, a posse of photographers who were snapping the wheelchair tennis match between Australia and New Zealand were approached by a Kensington Palace press officer.
Without naming Harry or Meghan, she whispered to them: “When they arrive, stay in your seats and don’t move out of them. If you do, they will leave.”
A few minutes later the waiting press pack watched in disbelief as, hand in hand, Meghan and Harry walked in to Nathan Phillips Square and sat down at the side of the court. In the choreography of their romance, this was a showstopper. They laughed and joked, stroked each other’s arms, whispered sweet nothings and chatted to the families and friends of the competitors. When Meghan was handed a bottle of water, Harry advised her to put it on the floor and not drink it in view of the cameras. Pictures of celebrities drinking can look awkward and clumsy.
Meghan had her own agenda. Instinctively attuned to the semiology of fashion, it was entirely deliberate that she teamed her ripped blue jeans with a loose-fitting shirt designed by her great friend Misha Nonoo and called “the husband shirt.” Naturally, the white shirt, which Meghan had once described on her blog as “my very favorite button down” sold out within minutes. That her handbag was made by the ethical brand Everlane also sent out a message: what she wore mattered.
One of the few sour notes was when Meghan’s half sister Samantha tweeted: “It’s a shame that Prince Harry’s girlfriend Meghan Markle is embarrassed by her sister in a wheelchair.”