Heartbroken Meghan Markle cried over clips of Princess Diana’s wedding, claims new book
ROYAL bride-to-be Meghan Markle is so fascinated by the life of Prince Harry’s mum she would like to be “Princess Diana 2.0”, a new book claims.
Meghan was deeply affected by Di’s death and so inspired by the royal’s compassionate campaigning that she turned to helping others herself.
The book, by Diana’s former biographer Andrew Morton, also reveals Meghan gave Donald Trump a wide berth when the “super-creepy” tycoon met aspiring TV starlets.
And Meghan is revealed as a former party animal whose dreams of being a diplomat were dashed after an attack on her car.
Morton writes: “Even though Meghan is very much her own woman, it is interesting that those who taught her, or knew her, spontaneously mention the ‘D’ word in the same breath as Meghan. Comparisons with Diana are inevitable.”
He says Meghan, now 36, was left heartbroken by her death in a Paris car crash.
The author writes: “Meghan and her friends watched the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales, in early September 1997, tears coursing down their cheeks at the poignant moment when the cameras zoomed in on the royal coffin."
Perched among the white flowers was an envelope with the one word, ‘Mummy’, containing Prince Harry’s last note to his beloved mother.
Morton says that after the tragedy, Meghan and friend Suzy Ardakani watched videos of Charles and Diana’s 1981 wedding.
He writes: “According to family friends, she was intrigued by Diana, not just for her style, but for her independent humanitarian mission, seeing her as a role model.”
Meghan and Suzy collected clothes and toys for poor kids.
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And Morton writes: “Such was her interest that Suzy’s mother Sonia even gave her a copy of my biography, Diana: Her True Story, which remained on her bookshelves for the next few years.
“As friend Ninaki Priddy observed: ‘She was always fascinated by the Royal Family. She wants to be Princess Diana 2.0’.”
Meghan has shown her compassionate side from a young age. At 16 she helped at the Hippie Kitchen, a hang-out for the homeless and crack addicts in LA’s roughest neighbourhood.
She’s had to stand up to racism, and comforted classmate Elizabeth McCoy who was picked on for suffering epileptic seizures.
According to Morton, Elizabeth said of Meghan: “She was cool and had cool things to say. I liked being around her."
Meghan’s determination to do what felt right was tested years later when Donald Trump visited the US Deal or No Deal set where Meghan was working as a “briefcase girl” to pay the bills.
The girls wore dresses so tight they could not bend to put on their high heels.
Morton writes: “Plenty of celebrities dropped by, some clearly trying to get up close and personal with the girls.
“One guest caused quite the frisson: Donald Trump, then making a guest appearance to cross-promote The Apprentice.
“He gave girls his card and invited them to play golf at one of his courses.
Fellow briefcase girl Tameka Jacobs told me, ‘He was super-creepy, but some girls were attracted to money and power and took his number.’
“Meghan was one of the girls who gave him a wide berth.”
Her sensible attitude contrasted markedly with her time at Chicago’s Northwestern University.
Before joining, she had dental veneers put over a slightly gappy grin so she could smile without feeling self-conscious.
Meghan joined Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority whose members partied in search for boyfriends.
“More sophisticated than most of her contemporaries, Meghan was seen as a cool catch,” writes Morton.
“Normally she went for well-dressed Latin boyfriends, but her first boyfriend was Steve, a chiselled, white, 6ft 5in basketball player from Ohio.
“Her KKG sorority sisters were ‘impressed she’d snared a hottie’.”
A former classmate said the relationship did not last as Steve was committed to his sporting ambitions, while Meghan “was a party animal, who enjoyed drinking and staying out late”.
Drinking, munching dorm food and making late-night trips to a 24-hour Burger King saw Meghan pile on weight.
At Northwestern, Meghan took theatre and international studies. She harboured an ambition to be a politician and, in the summer break, took an internship at the US embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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Morton writes: “She knew that her uncle, Mick Markle, worked in communication for the US government — the talk in the family was that he worked for the CIA.
“So she asked for his help. Uncle Mick pulled a few strings.”
On August 4, 2002 — her 21st birthday — she travelled in a convoy with finance secretary, Paul O’Neill, who was visiting South America.
It was a period of unrest, and protesters attacked Meghan’s car. She described it as the scariest moment of her life.
She sat a foreign service exam in a bid to pursue a career.
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Morton says: “It proved a stretch too far; Meghan failed.”
Soon after, dad Tom helped her land a small role on a TV drama.
Morton writes: “One door had closed, another one opened. If the State Department didn’t want her, maybe Hollywood did.”
- EXTRACTED from Meghan: A Hollywood Princess by Andrew Morton, published on April 12 (Michael O’Mara Books £20).
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