Finding Freedom

by Omid Scobie

  During the three-hour gap between receptions, Meghan changed looks. The London salon owner George Northwood tied her strands into a higher, tighter chignon with curled, face-framing tendrils. For the lower light of the evening, Daniel was after a slightly dreamer, sexier look, adding darker shadows to Meghan’s eyes. Her second dress—a high-neck, silk crepe Stella McCartney design—was sultrier, too. It was time for Meghan to party.

  “The role that she’s taken on is very austere, it’s very sort of serious, and I think there’s a great weight that she’s acquired through that and she takes it very seriously,” Stella told the BBC. “It was the last moment that she could reflect, sort of the other side to her.”

  For an item that covered both borrowed and blue, Harry loaned Meghan his late mother’s emerald-cut aquamarine and twenty-four-carat yellow gold Asprey ring.

  “I just want to get on with this and get going,” Meghan said to Daniel, who dabbed a touch of organic oil onto her skin, handed her a stack of blotting papers and lipstick, and sent her off to the 1968 silver blue Jaguar E-Type Concept Zero that a tuxedoed Harry navigated down the Long Path to their reception at Frogmore House.

  Two hundred friends and family, who had received the hand-drawn invitations for the evening reception, arrived at Frogmore House close to 7:00 p.m. in double-decker buses. Some chose to take their own transportation, including Doria, who napped in the back of a Range Rover. Harry’s cousins Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie skipped the more pedestrian rides in favor of a black Bentley. George and Amal Clooney pulled up in a silver Audi.

  (Notably absent were Skippy, Harry’s old friend, who had questioned the prince’s relationship with Meghan, and his wife, Lara. They were invited to the wedding ceremony and lunchtime reception but didn’t make the cut for the evening bash. At a brunch the day after the wedding, Skippy told friends, “Meghan had changed Harry too much.” His Eton pal said the prince was awed by the likes of the Clooneys and Oprah. “We’ve lost him,” Skippy concluded. Many of Harry’s old friends said that the evening guest list was the prince and his bride’s way of saying, “These are the people we want in our lives moving forward.”)

  After switching off their cell phones (the bride and groom had made it clear that this part of the celebration was to be resolutely private), the guests at the evening party spilled out from two white marquees onto the wide expanse of lawn that had served as the backdrop for Harry and Meghan’s engagement photos months earlier. They, too, had made their own midday wardrobe swaps. Serena Williams, previously in head-to-toe pink Versace, wore a floral Valentino gown accessorized with the designer’s sneakers for maximum comfort. Meghan’s close friend Priyanka Chopra traded her lavender Vivienne Westwood suit and coordinating fascinator for a sparkly gold tulle Dior gown and Lorraine Schwartz jewels.

  Famously not fond of stiff affairs, Harry had fantasized of a celebration to rival the heady nights out of his youth, when he and his pals would down the signature champagne-topped treasure chest cocktails at the tiki-themed nightclub Mahiki or spend long evenings dancing at Boujis. And though the Frogmore House setting—a stately 336-340-year-old-home once inhabited by King George III—was undeniably staid, the reception itself was anything but.

  At precisely 7:30 p.m., the group, in their black-tie finery, was ushered into the custom-built marquee erected in front of the seventeenth-century mansion, finding their spots at one of twenty tables named for various foods with different British and American pronunciations. While one group of pals set down their cocktail glasses at a table labeled with “tomato,” others were assigned to “basil,” “oregano,” “potato,” or “arugula.” In describing the event to Vanity Fair, the True Blood actress and close friend Janina Gavankar said, “There were so many nods to the beautiful mash-up of two cultures.”

  Despite the large number of guests at the evening reception, the dinner was a truly intimate affair—especially when compared to the pomp and circumstance of the afternoon witnessed by millions.

  “The ceremony was just incredible to be a part of, and such an honor to even witness, but then in the evening, you really felt that you were at your friend’s wedding. It was a small safe group. Many of us know each other or have gotten acquainted over the last year and a half. It was just different,” said a close friend and guest. “It felt just like them. You could see every single thing that they had lovingly selected. We girls were going, ‘Oh That’s so Meg.’ ”

  However, the locally sourced, organic menu—prepared by the Michelin-starred chef Clare Smyth (who herself quickly struck up a friendship with Meghan) and featuring such dishes as sage and onion roast chicken, aged for sixty-four days at Devon’s Creedy Carver farm—that was Prince Charles’s doing.

  As waiters circulated the first of three courses, William started his speech. Recalling the embarrassing reenactment Harry did of the gushy phone conversations between Kate and him while they were dating, he vowed that revenge would be sweet now that he was his brother’s best man.

  To ensure his little brother’s embarrassment, William handed the microphone off to “God’s gift, Charlesworth,” the princes’ nickname for their boarding school chum Charlie van Straubenzee.

  An investment management firm executive and longtime member of Harry’s inner circle of friends, Charlie chose the elegant occasion to bring up old boarding school memories.

  All I wanted was a cuddle from my mummy, Von Straubenzee said as reported in the UK Newspaper The Times of first meeting Harry at Berkshire’s Ludgrove school, where the royal had been assigned the role of dormitory monitor. “Instead, Harry nicked my teddy bear and chucked it out onto the roof. Ladies and gentlemen, I ask you, how can you put someone in charge of a dorm when that someone is worse behaved than the whole dorm combined?”

  Poking fun at “our strawberry blond prince’s” longtime denial of his red-hued locks, Charlie described how Harry often hated other gingers as a kid without recognizing that he was a member of their tribe. Then he covered Harry’s penchant for falling off horses while playing polo—generally due to his nursing a hangover during the match. Having gotten his digs in (including a mention of the well-reported antics of Harry’s youth), Charlie turned emotional when talking about not just the prince’s struggles from losing his mother as a boy but the impressive way he had come through the other side of anger and depression.

  Diana would be so proud and so happy to see that Harry had found love with such an amazing woman, Charlie shared, and she would be thrilled at the prospect of them starting their lives together. Meghan, he concluded, was a phenomenal match for his dear friend, and he was so grateful to her for how happy she made Harry.

  Overcome with emotion as well, Harry stepped up to the mic to once again offer his gratitude to everyone who had made this day possible. He thanked his dad for his unending love and his help in putting together the event. Charles, who footed much of the bill for the evening bash, would later make a crack that the budget had “long gone out the window.” He also extended his thanks to his mother-in-law for her role in raising such “an amazing daughter, my wife,” words that elicited a huge cheer from the group. Finally, he turned to his bride: “Words can’t express how incredibly lucky I am to have such an amazing wife by my side.”

  Then, as had been rumored, Meghan made a speech of her own.

  A first for a royal bride, the move reinforced the idea that this American was no typical duchess.

  “You could literally hear a pin drop,” said a close confidant, who described the speech as a momentous occasion even for the Americans.

  “For her to have been quiet for as long as she had, and then have this really safe space where she could give these heartfelt remarks, it was a really special moment,” the source said. “She spent so many years, whether on campus, on TV, or advocating for women to be empowered, speaking out. And she’s respected that. She does have a lot of respect for tradition, a lot of respect for the family and the institution that she has joined. But it’s just
a different way of living. We’d missed hearing her speak.”

  And apparently Meghan felt the same way, because she laughed, “I know it’s been a while.”

  The bride took her moment at the mic to express her appreciation to the Queen for warmly welcoming her into the fold from the start. Charles got his own thank-you for stepping in to fill the role of her father in escorting her down the aisle and for his courtesy in helping her mother through unfamiliar territory. Doria, too, was thanked for her support and wisdom. The bulk of her praise, though, went to Harry, the prince she had been fixed up with by chance and who continued to shatter her every expectation.

  All her American pals whistled and clapped.

  “That’s our Meg,” the confidant said. “She just connects.”

  After all the heartfelt remarks, the comic relief arrived in the form of the Late Late Show host, James Corden, who strode to the center of the tent dressed as Henry VIII. His wife, Julia, a friend of Meghan’s, recoiled in mock-horror.

  “Your Royal Highnesses, ladies and gentlemen, I had no idea what to wear to a royal wedding,” joked the late-night talk show host, who had donned full Tudor regalia from tunic to tights, “so I looked it up in the royal etiquette manual and found this outfit. I hope I’ve come in the right gear.”

  After James wrapped up his act—including a bit about what the use of a tent said about the size of Windsor Castle—the guests followed Harry’s orders to have a serious party.

  For their first dance, the couple chose “I’m in Love” by the sixties soul singer Wilson Pickett. The wedding staple gave way to more soul classics, such as the Temptations’ ”My Girl” and Sam and Dave’s “Soul Man,” performed by a twelve-piece American Southern band. Then “DJ to the Stars” Sam Totolee took to the turntables. Having cut his teeth in the thumping clubs of Ibiza and played at private events for the likes of Diddy, Elon Musk, and Pippa Middleton’s 2017 vows, Sam played track after track of club music—as instructed by Harry.

  Sam stopped spinning only to allow Idris Elba to take over for a one-hour spell. As the actor, who had bonded with the prince when he lent a hand during the Invictus Games one year, said on Ellen, “One day he said, you know, ‘What are you doing on the [wedding] day?’ And I was like ‘Hmmm, nothing’ and he goes ‘Would you like to, a, come to the wedding and, b, would you like to DJ at the reception?’ And I was like ‘No . . . yes! Of course, I would!’ ”

  If the same thumping hip-hop and house beats Harry once went wild for at the nightclubs of his twenties (the loud music carrying well across Windsor’s thirteen acres) or the cocktails from the “drinks of the world” themed bar didn’t get the wedding guests into the party spirit, George Clooney was also on hand to help. Coaxing people to the bar, he had partygoers laughing as he started free-pouring shots of Casamigos tequila, the liquor brand the movie star co-founded. “I wanted to make sure everyone had the best time,” Clooney said.

  At 11:00 p.m., it was time for the grand finale. While staff members inside brought out small canapés to soak up the ginger-and-rum-based signature “When Harry Met Meghan” cocktails, other staff outside rushed to find rope to shoo the swans off the lake where the show was about to take place. Then guests were encouraged to step outside for a spectacular fireworks display.

  Holding hands with her new husband, Meghan kept her focus on the sky. Her future was directly in front of her, as bright and brilliant as the dramatic display lighting up the air. The wedding saw the culmination of a unique journey for a couple, who overcame significant odds to be in that moment. Yet the start of their marriage presented fresh obstacles.

  16

  Mum’s the Word

  Harry and Meghan were fresh off their secret honeymoon, which they had flown to on a private jet loaned by a friend. They spent the majority of the weeklong trip in the sun at a location so private, most of their friends still don’t know where they went.

  They were still basking in the glow of their newlywed status on June 18, 2018, when Thomas Markle conducted an explosive interview with Good Morning Britain. A live feed from a hotel room in San Diego carried Meghan’s father as he touched on a range of topics. He apologized for taking part in the staged photographs before the wedding, even though he was reportedly getting paid $10,000 for the TV interview. “I realized it was a serious mistake,” he said. “It’s hard to take it back.”

  It was hard to imagine how he expected his daughter and Harry to forgive him. Advisors and friends close to Harry and Meghan were at a loss as to what to do with a man who had once again gone rogue. The Palace valued discretion and privacy above all else. “I think he’s not well, and I think he’s vulnerable,” a source close to the couple shared. “Those newspapers and broadcasters who pay regularly for another interview, I think that’s just beyond disgraceful.”

  Thomas’s latest humiliation was particularly disappointing for the couple, who had actually postponed their honeymoon so they could attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace to celebrate the Prince of Wales’s seventieth birthday. Six thousand people—among them representatives from 386 of Charles patronages, twenty military affiliations, and members from the country’s emergency services—paid tribute to the prince’s half century of humanitarian work. Although Prince Charles’s actual birthday wasn’t until November, Harry and Meghan’s presence at the May 22 event reflected the growing bond between Charles and the Sussexes.

  “His enthusiasm and energy are truly infectious,” Harry said that afternoon, paying tribute to his father. “It has certainly inspired William and I to get involved in issues we care passionately about and to do whatever we can to make a difference. In fact, many of the issues William and I now work on are subjects we were introduced to by our father growing up.

  “So, Pa, while I know that you’ve asked that today not be about you, you must forgive me if I don’t listen to you—much like when I was younger—and instead, I ask everyone here to say a huge thank-you to you, for your incredible work over nearly fifty years. Work that has given self-confidence and opportunity to thousands of young people who might not have had the best start in life, or to champion causes like climate change long before almost anyone else was talking about it; and above all, for your vision and ability to bring people together to make change happen. You have inspired William and I, and looking out here today, it is clear to see that we are not alone.”

  Meghan had her own reasons for admiring her father-in-law, who had poignantly walked her down the aisle when her own father let her down. At the time, a trusted confidant said Meghan “found such a supportive and loving father in Charles, which has really changed her life for the better.” Not a father-in-law but a “second father,” according to the source.

  A friend of Charles’s said that the Prince of Wales had “taken a real shine to Meghan. She’s a sassy, confident, beautiful American. He likes very strong, confident women. She’s bright, and she’s self-aware, and I can see why they’ve struck up a very quick friendship.”

  Charles liked Meghan’s energy. “The Prince of Wales has always been fond of people from the Arts, like Emma Thompson, who he’s been mates with for years,” another source said. “Meghan ticks the boxes. Most of all she’s married to his beloved youngest son and made him whole. Charles takes enormous delight and pleasure in that.”

  Perhaps Camilla understood her husband’s need for family connection, because in the early days she and Charles made sure Meghan was supported as she navigated the ups and downs of life in the public eye. Both had been reassuring and sympathetic in those difficult moments before the wedding. The couple had spent a private weekend at Castle of Mey that summer, the Scottish retreat once owned by the Queen Mother, who had been especially close to Prince Charles. Harry and Meghan had quietly jetted off for five days to Caithness on the northern Scottish coast. At the sixteenth-century castle tucked away from the public, Meghan was able to spend quality time with Charles and Camilla.

  Before her father appeared again in the media,
Meghan was adjusting nicely to her role as the newest member of the royal family. Not only had she developed a rapport with Charles and Camilla, but she had accompanied the Queen on a June 14 “away day” to Chester—without Harry. Just the two of them (and several aides) traveled together overnight on the Royal Train.

  It was a daunting journey for the new wife, despite the amenities of Her Majesty’s personal train, which had private bedrooms (Prince Philip’s pillows are plain; the Queen’s, with a small royal cipher in one corner, are trimmed with lace); a sitting room with a sofa of hand-stitched velvet cushions; a dining table for six; a desk where the Queen worked on her papers; and secondary air suspension for a smoother-than-average ride. (The train conductor drives extra slowly around 7:30 a.m. to make sure the water stays in the tub while the Queen has her bath.)

  Meghan was extremely grateful for the Queen’s generosity. It was an honor to be taken under the Queen’s wing so soon after her marriage. Kate’s first engagement, despite knowing the Queen for years, was a full ten months after her wedding to Prince William.

  The Queen had a level of confidence in Meghan, because as a Palace source shared, “she handles these situations flawlessly because she’s always well prepared and respectful. She’s very clever and good at understanding what’s required.”

  Sure enough, Meghan, in an elegant cream cape Givenchy sheath dress from her wedding gown designer, Clare Waight Keller, gave a near-flawless performance on the train trip. (Although she was criticized by the tabloids for not wearing a hat, despite the fact it was not required.)

  “The Queen was wonderful, warm, and generous toward the new Duchess,” a source close to Her Majesty said. “She made sure Meghan knew what was going on and made her feel very much at home because it was her first trip.”