She is the darling of the hour. Loved by a prince and the public, Meghan Markle’s future life as a royal is the envy of many.
Now, a candid home video obtained by DailyMailTV has given a fascinating insight into her past and revealed a girl who could hardly dare dream of such riches.
The footage broadcast for the first time on DailyMailTV shows the woman who will marry Prince Harry next spring as a giddy, ambitious and thoroughly normal 18-year-old girl.
Driving around her hometown of Los Angeles she talks about boys, clothes, shopping, and music before revealing with classic teenage nonchalance that she and her dad ‘aren’t getting along.’
Joy ride: A candid home video shows a fresh-faced Meghan Markle driving around Los Angeles in her Nissan with her best friend as they listen to 90s jams on the radio and cruise through Rodeo Drive in 1999
Meet teenage Meghan: The home movie gives fascinating insight into her past as she shows off a day in her life as an aspiring actress. The girls drive around until Meghan goes off to an audition
Meghan shows off her license plate cover which reads ‘CLASSY GIRL,’ which she admits was a give from ‘the ex-boyfriend’
Whatever the trouble, it is long overcome as Thomas Markle, 73, who now lives in Mexico, hopes to walk his daughter down the aisle of St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle when she marries Harry.
Shot on one day in the summer of 1999, Markle, 36, was a jobbing actress, trying to make it in Hollywood when she and then best friend, Ninaki Priddy, made their day-in-a-life home movie.
Priddy, is behind the camera for most of the tape with Markle behind the wheel as the girls spend the day together hanging out at Markle’s house and driving around LA.
Before she gets in the car Markle points out her license plate cover which reads ‘CLASSY GIRL’ and admits, ‘The ex-boyfriend got me that.’
The highlight of Markle’s day is an audition for a role in a Shakira video. As she gets ready for it we see her collect her headshots from her room where stuffed toys sit on shelves next to countless pictures of Markle with her family, Priddy, and other friends.
‘Don’t show that god-awful picture of me,’ she implores at one point as Priddy pans around the messy room. Markle explains that she is getting ready to move.
Once in the car Markle drives and chats excitedly about her audition ‘They want me to dance wildly,’ she says as the girls’ listen to the track. ‘I have to dance to this in front of like, five people, sitting there watching me.’
Best friends: Meghan’s childhood friend, Ninaki Priddy (left) is behind the camera for most of the tape and captures them spending the day together hanging out at Markle’s house and driving around LA
Gal pals: Ninaki (right) – who met Meghan when they were two years old – went on to be maid of honor at Markle’s first marriage, but when that marriage ended in divorce after just two years, Priddy and Markle’s friendship also foundered
Several hours later, her hair tousled, Markle explains: ‘This is the aftermath of the audition. It went pretty well. I had to dance crazily. So I did and it was tiring but fun.’
She tells Priddy that she got to catch up with a girl she had met in a music video for a Tori Amos song in which she scored a role.
She plays with her hair and continues: ‘We just all danced like wild women and I was shaking my hair around so hopefully I’ll book that.
‘It’s $600 for two days and if not I’ll probably get some extra work on it…I won’t get any camera shots but it’ll be fun. And that would probably be $200.’
A world away from the polished actress who made her name as paralegal Rachel Zane in the Amazon show, ‘Suits,’ she smiles broadly and says: ‘I was really nervous I was going to spill out of my top ‘coz I was shaking around so much.’
These days designers are lining up to dress the future royal, but back then the closest Markle could get to couture was a spin along Rodeo Drive, reading off the list of luxury stores: Cartier, Chanel, Ferragamo, Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton.
‘This is the aftermath of the audition’: Meghan, with her hair tousled, returns to camera after auditioning for a Shakira music video where she was asked to ‘dance wildly’
Shopping: The two are seen reading off the list of luxury stores on the famed Rodeo Dr: Cartier, Chanel, Ferragamo, Prada, Gucci, Louis Vuitton
Hello boys: The girls wave and say hello to strangers on the street as they drive through town. At one point they spot a couple of good-looking guys at a crosswalk and giggle as they flirtatiously holler ‘hi guys’
Meghan’s teenage bedroom: The footage also shows the future princess’s messy room for which Meghan explains she is getting ready to move to college
She makes a stop at home to collect her headshots from her room where stuffed toys sit on shelves next to countless pictures of Markle with her family, Priddy, and other friends
Meghan serves as the tour guide as the pair enter an area in West Hollywood where she points out ‘it’s called Boystown, definitely a predominantly homosexual community.’
‘Their symbol is the rainbow,’ she adds, ‘even the police cars, even the police cars have little rainbow stickers on them!’
‘It’s really funny little place to visit,’ she says before mentioning the area has a problem with ‘male prostitution.’
When they spot a couple of good-looking guys at a crosswalk, Priddy zooms in and the pair giggle and flirtatiously holler ‘Hi guys,’ as they continue on to the mall and stores they can afford.
‘We’re good shoppers,’ Markle notes and later she models the clothes that she bought that day: a pair of pants, a black knee length skirt, a white button down shirt and a grey pin-striped tube top.
As she changes a Mark McGrath track plays on the television. ‘Oh he’s so hot,’ she says, darting to check out the video.
When her friend disagrees, stating that the singer ‘looks like a troll,’ Markle responds: ‘He’s the finest troll I’ve ever seen.’
It is all a world away from both of their lives today. At the time of the movie they had been friends for sixteen years, having met when they were just two years old.
Priddy, 36, went onto be maid of honor at Markle’s first marriage to but when that marriage to film producer and talent manager, Trevor Engleson, ended in divorce after just two years, Priddy and Markle’s friendship also foundered.
In the video Priddy focuses on a picture of herself with Markle and says softly, ‘friends forever.’ But speaking recently she said that she no longer recognizes the woman lighting up the world stage today as the girl with whom she once ‘putzed’ around LA.
From LA teen to royalty: Meghan and Prince Harry are set to wed next spring in St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle