Meghan Markle’s Bizarre First Wedding Request Prompted Guests to Ask ‘Is She Kidding?’
Long before her globally televised 2018 royal wedding to Prince Harry at St George’s Chapel in Windsor, Meghan Markle previously walked down the aisle with American film producer Trevor Engelson. The couple tied the knot in August 2011 before quietly separating two years later in 2013, finalizing their divorce in 2014—two years prior to her first encounter with the Duke of Sussex. While their relationship was largely private, the destination wedding in Jamaica received brief coverage in The Hollywood Reporter due to her emerging role as Rachel Zane on the legal drama Suits.
Despite her relatively low profile in Hollywood at the time, Meghan made a rather peculiar demand of her wedding attendees that raised eyebrows among friends and colleagues. As recounted in Tina Brown’s biographical account The Palace Papers, one guest recalled an unexpected rule enforced by the bride-to-be: a strict ban on social media posts.
The wedding guest revealed: “The only jarring note is that Meghan sent out a note requesting ‘no social media, please.’ We were all laughing because she had been on Suits for a few months, and at that point, we were like, is she kidding me? She was like, ‘I’m a really big actress.'” The resurfaced anecdote highlights early glimpses of Meghan’s media awareness well before her royal ascent, coming back into focus just as the 44-year-old Duchess, Prince Harry, and their two children, Prince Archie (7) and Princess Lilibet (5), settle back into life in the United Kingdom following six years in California.
