Meghan Markle Brings Pal Who Played Important Role in Her Romance with Prince Harry to Hockey Game

Meghan supported Prince Harry at the Vancouver Canucks game, where he did the ceremonial puck drop

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were spotted in the stands of the Vancouver Canucks hockey game with an old friend who helped bring them together.

On Monday night, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a surprise appearance at the Canucks vs. San Jose Sharks matchup at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, Canada, making the stop ahead of the next Invictus Games in Vancouver and Whistler in 2025. They were joined by Markus Anderson, who sat in their suite next to Meghan and hopped up to cheer when the home team scored a goal.

The Daily Mail previously reported that Meghan has described him as one of her “closest friends in the world.” A bio on Mr Porter states that Anderson is the Chief Membership Officer of Soho House, a private members’ club with locations around the globe.

Meghan, 42, and Harry, 39, famously had their first date at the exclusive club’s London hub in July 2016, and they continued to return to the club during their transatlantic courtship before getting engaged the following fall.

Related: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Surprise Crowd at Vancouver Canucks Game — and Harry Takes the Ice!

While Prince Harry wrote in his memoir Spare that he and Meghan first connected on Instagram after she spotted her photo there with a mutual friend named Violet, the Daily Mail reported that Anderson “arranged for the couple to meet secretly in private rooms” at Soho House in Toronto and London.

Anderson helped open Soho House’s first Canadian location in downtown Toronto in 2012, where Meghan lived while filming Suits. The two reportedly ran in the same social circle for years, and Anderson often appeared on Meghan’s eponymous Instagram, which was deleted ahead of her royal wedding in May 2018.

Meghan’s Instagram documented many dinners, get-togethers and fun times with Anderson, including a vacation to Spain in 2016.

Related: Prince Harry Drops Ceremonial Puck at Vancouver Canucks Game 21 Years After Queen Elizabeth

“What would I do without you, my loving, supportive, and endlessly fun friend??” Meghan wrote in a post celebrating her pal’s birthday that August. “I know what….I would be bored, and life would be infinitely less interesting. I love you SO much.”

Anderson was by Meghan’s side at the opening ceremony of the Invictus Games in Toronto in September 2017, where Harry and Meghan famously made their public debut as a couple.

Eight months later, he was a guest at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s royal wedding at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle and was there to celebrate Meghan’s baby shower in New York City in February 2019 while she was pregnant with Prince Archie, now 4.

Meghan’s friend also came out to support her at the Ms. Foundation Women of Vision Awards in New York City in May. The Duchess of Sussex was honored as a Woman of Vision Award honorees for her global advocacy to empower women and girls, and posed for a photo with Anderson, her friend Genevieve Hillis and agent Jill Smoller, who began representing Meghan after it was announced she signed with talent agency William Morris Endeavor in April. Smoller is the longtime agent to Meghan’s pal Serena Williams.

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Meghan, Harry and Markus seemed to be in good spirits during the hockey game on Monday, where the Duke of Sussex made the ceremonial puck drop before the game began.

Harry’s appearance on the ice came 21 years after his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, had her own ceremonial puck drop (also at a Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks game!). The late monarch visited Vancouver while on an 11-day tour in Canada in honor of her Golden Jubilee at the time.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s latest trip to Canada is in honor of the next Invictus Games, which will hold its seventh cycle there in two years.

King Charles’s younger son is a former captain in the British Army and founded the international adaptive sports tournament for wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans in 2014.

During the visit to Canada this week, Prince Harry visited some of the venues for the 2025 Invictus Games. The organization shared photos of the Duke of Sussex bundled up in a coat and winter hat as they toured the snowy slopes.

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