A is for Albert’s.
What’s first on the to-do list of a newly engaged couple? Why, throw a party, of course. And where better to do it than Albert’s in South Kensington?
Already a big draw for the uber-posh, the private members’ club is named after Queen Victoria’s consort – Harry’s great-great-great-great-grandfather.
More to the point, it is run by Harry’s pals Piers Adam, Jake Parkinson-Smith, Carlo Carello and Fraser Carruthers.
Harry and co have tired of falling out of better-known nightclubs such as Boujis and Mahiki and want more exclusive venues, away from prying eyes.
The beauty guru she shares with Gwynnie. The heiress who’ll be her new bezzie… they’re all on speed-dial as Meghan Markle prepares to be a princess in London
B is for Barbour and the Brown Cow.
Barbour jacket? Check. Hunter wellies? Check. Ever since she struck up with the Prince, Meghan has been acquiring the country-set wardrobe.
It’s just the sort of look that goes down well at the Brown Cow – the Fulham Road gastropub which is a favourite of Harry and where he celebrated Prince George’s birth.
What’s first on the to-do list of a newly engaged couple? Why, throw a party, of course. And where better to do it than Albert’s in South Kensington (pictured)
The Queen is pictured wearing a Barbour jacket in Windsor in 1990
C is for Chiltern Firehouse.
If Meghan yearns for a swift Negroni or a glass of her favourite Tignanello vino, she will pop into celebrity haunt Chiltern Firehouse, owned by American multi-millionaire André Balazs.
His daughter, Alessandra, is dating one of Prince Harry’s oldest friends, posh bad boy Arthur Landon, one of Britain’s richest young men, who was with the Prince when he found himself photographed naked in Vegas.
D is for Dogs (but not for Corgis).
Meghan shares a picture of her dog on Instagram as she tucks into a Joe The Juice drink
She may have given up her acting career for Prince Harry, but Meghan will never give up her two dogs, Bogart and Guy (pictured), who have arrived in the country on doggie passports
She may have given up her acting career for Prince Harry, but Meghan will never give up her two dogs, Bogart and Guy, who have arrived in the country on doggie passports.
The labrador/German shepherd and beagle, both adopted from an animal shelter, are close companions. D is also for Copper Dog, a brand of whisky recently launched by Harry’s friend Piers Adam.
E is for the Emirates Stadium, home of Arsenal Football Club.
It is no secret that Prince Harry is a Gunners fan – as, reportedly, is the Queen – so Meghan is going to need a crash course in the offside rule before Harry takes her to their North London Emirates stadium
It is no secret that her boyfriend is a Gunners fan – as, reportedly, is the Queen – so Meghan is going to need a crash course in the offside rule before Harry takes her to their North London stadium.
F is for Flowers.
As Meghan never tires of saying on her blog, she just loves flowers, peonies in particular.
Now she’s in London, she buys them at Kensington Flower Corner, a pop-up stall next to St Mary Abbots Church just yards from Kensington Palace.
G is for Glasses – and Golf.
Meghan does not go far without her Finlay & Co sunglasses, which are monogrammed with her initials. She wore the £120 Percy light tortoiseshell frames to the Invictus Games, sparking a rush of orders for the British brand.
Expect to see her on the guest list for the opening of their first store in Soho – along with fellow fan Pippa Middleton.
Future princess Meghan Markle is pictured with her beloved pet dogs Bogart and Guy
Perhaps she’ll arrive in her discreet chauffeur-driven VW Golf hatchback, similar to one used by Kate.
H is for the Harbour Club.
This exclusive sports club, with its state-of-the-art gym, tennis courts and swimming pools, has been a Royal favourite since the days when Princess Diana was a member (and is where, infamously, she was snapped in her gym kit).
So, it would be the perfect place for Meghan to challenge Kate to a game of tennis. William and Harry have been regulars since they were children.
Pictured: Exclusive sports club Harbour Fitness Club in Chelsea, south west London
I is for interior decoration.
Where does a future princess shop for the cashmere throws, silver diffusers and gilt mirrors that a bachelor pad is truly crying out for?
She could do worse than start a wedding list at luxury homeware store India Jane, a stone’s-throw from Kensington Palace.
Or she could turn influential interior designer Annabel Eliot, who just happens to be sister to the Duchess of Cornwall, potentially her mother-law.
Pictured: The insideof Meghan Markle’s home in Toronto, Canada as seen on her Instagram
J is for Jo Malone.
Meghan says she cannot leave the house without dabbing on perfume.
Luckily her favourite aroma merchant is British icon Jo Malone, who also makes a range of scented joss sticks – perfect for the daughter of a Californian yoga teacher.
K is for Kensington Palace.
In the short term, Meghan may join Harry at Nottingham Cottage, his two-bedroom pad at ‘KP’ as it is known – home, of course, to brother William and family, plus assorted other Royals, including the Kents.
Meghan and Prince Harry are expected to move into a larger apartment if they marry.
In the short term, Meghan may join Harry at Nottingham Cottage, his two-bedroom pad at ‘KP’ as it is known – home, of course, to brother William and family, plus assorted other Royals, including the Kents. But the long term they are expected to move to a large home. Pictured is Kensington Palace Harry, Will and Kate’s current home
L is for Ladies Who Lunch.
Meghan has no shortage of upmarket pals, but Made In Chelsea star and confectionery heiress Millie Mackintosh – her family made its money from Quality Street – is one of the first on the speed dial.
After they had lunch at Soho Farmhouse in Oxfordshire earlier this year, Meghan set out her thoughts on Instagram.
Meghan has no shortage of upmarket pals, but Made In Chelsea star and confectionery heiress Millie Mackintosh (pictured)
‘The best afternoon with Millie Mackintosh,’ she gushed.
‘So proud of you darling.’ The Hon Lara Hughes-Young is another posh luncheon date.
The flame-haired literary agent invited Meghan and Harry to her wedding when she married Harry’s ‘wingman’ Tom ‘Skippy’ Inskip in Jamaica this year.
M is for mentor.
Former Welsh Guard Mark Dyer, described as Harry’s ‘second father’, has been a key figure in the Prince’s life since he was at Eton and that means he will be a big part of Meghan’s, too.
Harry is a big fan of Dyer’s chain of London gastropubs and he treated Meghan to lunch at one of them, the Sands End in Fulham.
So great is the trust between them that Dyer even escorted Meghan to watch Harry play polo in the summer.
Former Welsh Guard Mark Dyer, described as Harry’s ‘second father’, has been a key figure in the Prince’s life since he was at Eton and that means he will be a big part of Meghan’s, too. H is pictured with the two young princes
N is for Nichola Joss.
Meghan is a fan of A-list facialist Nichola Joss. She visits her salon in Covent Garden whenever she is in London and pays £250 for the privilege of having her massage her face ‘inside and out’.
Other fans of the 60-minute Bespoke Sculpting Inner Facial include actresses Scarlett Johansson and Gwyneth Paltrow.
‘Nichola massages your face from the inside out (yes, really),’ says Meghan, ‘sculpting your cheekbones and reshaping your face with targeted movements to lift and brighten.’
O is for Occupation.
Meghan is not the kind of princess to lounge around a palace all day, so Meghan is said to be planning a charitable role for herself – just like Harry and William and Kate.
Meghan already represents World Vision Canada, which helps poverty-stricken communities in the developing world, and has worked with the United Nations to promote the lot of young women.
Time will be tight, of course: she has a lot of outfits to buy and some say that planning a wedding is a full-time job.
P is for Portobello Road.
The Queen doesn’t carry cash, but Meghan does and she loves the bohemian vibe at Portobello Road market, famous for its antiques and collectables.
Her favourite haunt in Toronto was the aptly named Kensington Market with its exotic mix of street food, shabby chic and blaring music. Sandringham could seem rather quiet.
Portobello Road in London’s Notting Hill could be Meghan’s next favourite shopping haunt
Q is for the Queen.
Tongues have been wagging about a Royal wedding from the moment Prince Harry introduced his American girlfriend to his grandmother.
The Queen invited Meghan and Harry to join her for afternoon tea at Buckingham Palace and spent an hour with them, sipping her own blend of Darjeeling and Assam, known as the Queen Mary blend.
Q is also for Quintessentially.
The ‘concierge’ group, founded by Camilla’s nephew Ben Eliot, will be on hand to arrange any pesky restaurant bookings.
The Queen (pictured for her 70th wedding anniversary with Prince Philip) invited Meghan and Harry to join her for afternoon tea at Buckingham Palace and spent an hour with them, sipping her own blend of Darjeeling and Assam, known as the Queen Mary blend
R is for Richard Ward
If Meghan takes her sister-in-law’s advice, she will have her hair cut at the Middleton family’s favourite hairdresser Richard Ward.
Kate gets her hair cut and coloured every eight weeks (with organic vegetable dye and subtle low lights) at the salon, just off Sloane Square.
S is for Soho House.
Meghan already knows the trendy British members’ club from its branches in Toronto, where she lived while filming American drama Suits, as well as other branches around the world.
Indeed, she is said to have conducted her discreet romance with Harry at a series of international Soho Houses after her close friend Markus Anderson – a consultant to the chain, and known as The King of Soho House – introduced Meghan to her prince charming.
Meghan already knows the trendy British members’ club Soho House (pictured) from its branches in Toronto, where she lived while filming American drama Suits, as well as other branches around the world
T is for Twickers.
As patron of the Rugby Football Union, Harry likes nothing better than a trip to Twickenham, home to the resurgent England side, and it’s a sure-fire bet that Meghan will soon be by his side discussing the merits of respective flankers, fly halves and hookers, of course.
As patron of the Rugby Football Union, Harry likes nothing better than a trip to Twickenham (pictured) , home to the resurgent England side
U is for the US Wives Club.
Meghan will quickly feel at home because American wives and girlfriends are already a hit with Harry’s crowd. Best friend Guy Pelly has married Lizzy Wilson, for example, an heiress to the Holiday Inn hotel empire.
Film producer Alexandria Jackson is dating Thomas van Straubenzee, another Harry chum and Alessandra Balazs – daughter of Chiltern Firehouse owner André – is the American girlfriend of multimillionaire film-maker Arthur Landon.
V is for Van Han.
The couple may soon need a country pile of their own, and they can check what’s on offer through the poshest of posh estate agencies Van Han, which is owned by Princess Charlotte’s godfather Thomas van Straubenzee and his pal Rory Penn.
Old Harrovian Thomas, known as Vans, has known William and Harry since Ludgrove prep school.
The couple were recently spotted househunting in the Cotswolds. On the other hand, the Queen might just give them one.
Meghan is pictured at the Polo Ralph Lauren VIP Suite at Wimbledon last year
W is for Whole Foods.
Meghan has been seen shopping at the upmarket store, a favourite among well-heeled Kensington residents and which is just across the road from Kensington Palace.
The American supermarket makes her feel at home and supplies her with her favourite organic vegetables.
In true Californian style, Meghan is a devotee of Hollywood’s latest foodie fad, flexitarianism, which means deciding to be vegetarian when it suits.
X is for Harry’s exes.
It’s a hazard of moving in such exclusive circles – there’s no escaping them. So brunette Meghan can expect to find herself bumping into Harry’s blonde former girlfriends such as Chelsy Davy, Cressida Bonas and Florence Brudenell-Bruce, all regulars on the London circuit. X is also for Xmas.
Last year Meghan and Harry were spotted in Battersea Park buying a Christmas tree. At what point will she be invited to join The Firm on Boxing Day?
And what will this animal-lover make of a favourite seasonal pastime – blasting wildlife with a shotgun?
Y is for Yoga
As the daughter of a yoga instructor, Meghan will be keen to find a local studio to do her sun salutations.
And where better than Bodyism, branded by Tatler as the ‘poshest gym in London’.
As the daughter of a yoga instructor, Meghan (pictured) will be keen to find a local studio to do her sun salutations
Already a favourite with Pippa Middleton and the Beckhams, its credentials are excellent.
The boutique gym boasts ‘intense yoga’, oxygen filters, vitamin D-emitting lights, strong coffee and green shakes. Naturally. Meghan’s mum Doria would approve, but will she convert burger munching Harry?
Z is for Zara (both of them).
She may not yet have met Harry’s cousin Zara, but Meghan has already been given the Royal seal of approval by her husband Mike Tindall, who is a fan of her TV show Suits.
Like Kate, Meghan is also a fan of Spanish brand Zara, which has a huge store around the corner from Kensington Palace. She owns a pair of their distressed denim jeans, but she’d be wise not wear them at Balmoral.
She may not yet have met Harry’s cousin Zara (pictured), but Meghan has already been given the Royal seal of approval by her husband Mike Tindall, who is a fan of her TV show Suits
Like Kate,the Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan is also a fan of Spanish fashion brand Zara