Is This the Mystery Matchmaker Who Set up Prince Harry and Meghan Markle?
In their revealing engagement interview, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle confessed that they first met on a blind date.
“We were introduced by a mutual friend,” Harry said, when discussing how their royal romance began. Meghan then added: “We should protect her privacy and not reveal too much of that.”
It was one word in that exchange that raised eyebrows: “her.” Up until now, it was widely believed that Markus Anderson, a businessman and close friend of Meghan’s, had introduced them. But according to the couple, it was a female friend who set them up.
It seems the answer to who that friend may be is someone else in Markle‘s social circle — and she even gave a subtle nod to her during her first official appearance with Harry at the Invictus Games in September. The woman in question is Misha Nonoo, who runs not only in the same crowd as Meghan, but in Harry’s circle, too. Nonoo is a fashion designer whose designs Meghan has worn on several occasions.
When asked for comment, a representative for Nonoo told PEOPLE: “Misha will not be discussing anything surrounding her relationship with Meghan.”
Nonoo was previously married to Alexander Gilkes, the co-founder of Paddle 8, an online art auction house that once employed Harry’s cousin, Princess Eugenie. Gilkes is also one of Harry’s closest friends, so Nonoo would have undoubtedly become well acquainted with Harry during her marriage to Gilkes. Nonoo met Markle several years ago at a lunch in Miami where they were seated next to one another. They instantly became friends, and and “got along like a house on fire,” Nonoo told the Evening Standard in October.
For more on the couple, watchPrince Harry & Meghan Markle: The Royal Engagement available now, PeopleTV. Go to PeopleTV.com, or download the PeopleTV app on your favorite mobile or connected TV device.
Though Nonoo declined to answer when she was asked if she was the one to introduce Meghan and Harry, she did open up about what she thinks about the future royal bride — and her praise made it sound like Nonoo believes her pal will be a perfect fit for the royal family.
“I love her to death,” she told the Evening Standard. “She is the coolest girl in the world. She has the most remarkable and generous spirit. I aspire to be as philanthropic as she is, and to have as much of an impact as her.”
They’ve stayed close throughout her relationship with Harry. Meghan has posted photos with Nonoo on Instagram — the pair even traveled to Madrid together in August 2016, just after Meghan met Harry.
And when Markle stepped out with Harry for the first time at the Invictus Games in September, she wore one of Nonoo’s designs — the aptly-named “Husband shirt,” for the occasion. Nonoo said she was “touched” that her friend wore one of her designs for the momentous occasion. But considering the couple’s likely history with Nonoo, perhaps it was more than just a show of support for her friend’s brand on Markle’s part: Maybe it was a thank you.
