Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's bridal party will have the 'cutest' group of bridesmaids
Meghan Markle's fairytale wedding is almost here — the day she walks down the aisle to her betrothed Prince Harry amongst her friends and family and officially becomes a royal.
Their relationship was thrust into the limelight as soon as the engagement was announced in November last year.
They had the whole world swooning at their feet, especially Meghan's, but it did come with its fair share of negativity. Meghan's family past was dug out, her relationships with everyone including her ex-husband Trevor Engelson was scrutinized.
But the couple emerged stronger than ever and now they are finally getting hitched.
As soon as the wedding dates were announced, speculation about who would be a part of the bridal party made their rounds. A pretty successful actress, Markle has some high profile friends.
The list of could-be bridesmaids included names like Wimbledon champion Serena Williams, actress Priyanka Chopra. Meghan had met Serena during a sporting event back in 2014.
She and Serena were both participating in the charity event and she later had only great things to say about the tennis superstar.
She is said to have written on her website at the time that the two bonded about girl talk.
"We hit it off immediately," she reportedly wrote, "taking pictures, laughing through the flag football game we were both playing in, and chatting not about tennis or acting, but about all the good old fashioned girly stuff."
Priyanka and Meghan have been buddies since the two met at the annual Elle Television dinner. They hung out a lot too after that, and both Meghan and Priyanka had to say a lot about each other. Markle said in an interview with PTI "Priyanka is unbelievable. She has become a really good friend," she said, discussing how they met and platonic sparks flew.
"Elle magazine in the US hosted a dinner celebrating Women in TV, and we met that night — turns out that she really likes Suits. And you know when you meet someone and you just 'click'... It was just an easy, natural progression."
Markle had also shared that they keep in touch constantly through texts and email and try to meet every time they were in the same place.
Priyanka too said in an interview with People, that she roots for Meghan and the two are really good friends.
"We bonded as actors. We just became friends, like two girls would." Priyanka like Meghan is a television star so it's really no surprise that the two are close. Moreover, they both are quite outspoken about feminism and diversity, both being colored women.
The other names who made the rounds in terms of being a part of the bridal party were fashion designer and the couple's matchmaker Misha Nonoo, businesswoman Olivia Palermo and actress Sarah Rafferty. But now that the real list of the bridal party is announced it looks like everyone got it wrong.
Meghan has definitely decided to keep the bridal party close-knit with picking people from her close circles to be her bridesmaids. They are all the couple's goddaughters. There will be five bridesmaids helping the bride out this Saturday - two of them are Harry's goddaughters and two are Meghan's. The fifth one is the daughter of Meghan's previously speculated maid of honor Jessica Mulroney.
Harry's goddaughters Florence van Cutsem and Zalie Warren who are three and two years of age respectively along with Meghan's goddaughters Remi Litt and Rylan Litt, who are six and seven years of age. Florence is the daughter of Alice van Cutsem and Major Nicholas van Cutsem.
Alice van Cutsem and Major Nicholas van Cutsem's daughter Florence van Cutsem will be Meghan's bridesmaid. (Source:Getty Images)
Remember the meme-inspiring kid that had her hands on her ears during the ceremonial kiss after Will and Kate were wed? That was Grace van Cutsem. Florence is her cousin.
Zalie is the daughter of Zoe and Jake Warren, and it appears Harry and Jake go way back. Jake is son of John Warren, who is the Queen's racing manager.
He is also one of Diana's 17 godchildren. The two are very close friends - they attended school together at Ludgrove preparatory school and then Eton College. Jake's mum Lady Carolyn Warren is also said to be one of the closest confidants to the Queen. He's also very close to William, Harry's older sibling.
Coming to Meghan's side of things, Remi Litt and Rylan Litt are siblings, children of Benita and Darren Litt. The two girls are obviously close-knit because Meghan has listed both their kids to be on her bridal party in the most awaited wedding of the year.
Benita is one of her closest friends and she was with them for Christmas in 2016, where she called the litte kids "fairy goddaughters"
Ivy Mulroney, 4, is the daughter of Jessica Mulroney and Benedict Mulroney. Meghan is extremely close to Jessica, and the two have known each other way before Meghan tasted success.
In 2011, as Meghan geared up to star in 'Suits', the stylish law drama that shot her to fame, she had to move to Toronto alone from her base in Los Angeles. This was when the two became friends. A struggling actress in a strange new place finding a supportive shoulder has bff written all over it.
Jessica is the only people ever who have been given the same importance as Meghan's mum Doria by the soon to be Royal. She was invited along with Doria and a pal of Harry's Markus Anderson to join the couple during the Invictus Games - a sports event created by Harry in which wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and their associated veterans participate in competitive sports.
Along with these five bridesmaids, Will and Kate's daughter Princess Charlotte will also be on the list. There are three additional page boys too - Master Jasper Dyer, Prince Harry's 6-year-old godson, Brian Mulroney and John Mulroney, both seven years old. Jasper is the son of Amanda and Mark Dyer.
Dyer is said to be like a big brother figure to both Harry and William. He also played a huge role in setting up Sentebale, Harry's charity that works for the cause of orphans and vulnerable sections of children in Lesotho. majority of these kids are affected by HIV AIDS.
Brian and John are bridesmaid Ivy's siblings, children of Jessica Mulroney and Benedict Mulroney.