Markus Anderson joins Harry and Meghan at Vancouver hockey recreation

Meghan Markle was joined by her outdated buddy and confidante Markus Anderson as she and Prince Harry cheered on the Vancouver Canucks from a VIP field on the Rogers Arena on Monday.

Dubbed ‘Mr Soho House’, Markus, 43, is also known as the ‘second most vital man’ in Meghan’s life – and was instrumental in getting Harry and Meghan collectively.

In the early days of the royal couple’s courtship, Markus was usually pictured by Meghan’s facet, usually wearing a sensible go well with or stylish ensemble.

But yesterday, he opted for a inexperienced, woollen jacket and denims for a decidedly extra informal look as he sat subsequent to Meghan to look at the hockey.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are in Canada for work to advertise the subsequent Invictus Games, which can be held in Vancouver and Whistler in February 2025.     

So maybe it is becoming that Markus joined them, a he was by Meghan’s facet at her first public look with Harry on the Invictus Games in 2017 in Toronto.

He was her ‘bouncer’ as the worldwide media thronged outdoors a New York resort when she hosted her £350,000 child bathe; and in an internet site submit to him she as soon as wrote: ‘What would I do with out you, my loving, supportive, and endlessly enjoyable buddy… I really like you SO a lot.’]

Debonair, charming and with impeccable contacts, Markus is so near Meghan that she refers to him as uncle to her beloved canine. 

Anderson comes from Peterborough, Ontario, a city 90 miles north-east of Toronto.

At 18 he minimize his small-town ties and headed for London , touchdown a job as a waiter at A-list members’ membership Soho House.

He shortly caught the attention of well-connected founder Nick Jones, and rose via the ranks in London, growing his personal community of superstar buddies and fixers.

Jones quickly despatched him again to Canada to arrange Soho House in Toronto – and in 2011 Anderson met Meghan when she arrived in there from Los Angeles to movie the primary collection of her TV authorized drama Suits.

A Soho House supply beforehand instructed the Daily Mail: ‘Long earlier than Prince Harry got here on the scene, Markus was introducing Meghan to all types of wealthy and highly effective folks.’

Anderson launched Meghan to George and Amal Clooney and in addition to Jessica Mulroney – daughter-in-law of ex-Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. Jessica grew to become her closest feminine buddy, though the pair are believed to have drifted aside.

Meghan would check with Anderson as ‘uncle’ to her two canine Guy and Bogart and was photographed on vacation with him in Madrid.

Back then, Meghan was nonetheless with first husband, movie producer Trevor Engelson, and whereas Engelson remained in LA, Anderson squired her round Toronto, introducing her to native celebrities, together with the person who’s now Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau.

Anderson was a shoulder to cry on as Meghan’s marriage fell aside in 2013. He would set her up on dates with eligible males drawn from his huge community of contacts. But it was after she met Prince Harry in 2016 that Anderson grew to become an much more important a part of Meghan’s life.

While Meghan and Harry are extensively believed to have first met on a blind date in London arrange by designer Misha Nonoo, it was in Canada – and extra particularly at Toronto’s Soho House – that their love blossomed.

Anderson organized for the couple to satisfy secretly in non-public rooms on the membership.

He did the identical in London and even organized a romantic weekend away at Babington House, a picturesque resort in Somerset run by Soho House. When Meghan made her first public look with Harry on the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, she selected to take a seat subsequent to Anderson within the stands to look at occasions, and he was additionally photographed alongside Meghan’s mom Doria in a personal viewing field.

Meghan was additionally with Anderson when he celebrated his fortieth birthday. 

He was offered with Soho House’s first custom-made wine referred to as Lady A, a fruity rosé with a butterfly bottle designed by Damien Hirst. The artist is one other long-time Anderson buddy.

In a press launch, Soho House introduced: ‘So why Lady A? It’s an outdated nickname Nick Jones used for Markus Anderson, one in all our longest-standing crew members who turns 40 this yr.

‘Markus has been a loyal member of the crew for 20 years and this rosé is a becoming tribute.’

It added: ‘The butterfly label is designed by Damien Hirst, a buddy who is aware of Markus as a social butterfly.’

Since then, Anderson has change into more and more instrumental in serving to to information Meghan.

During Meghan’s £350,000 child bathe, she selected to take no Palace PRs along with her, as a substitute counting on her buddy to cope with the media massed outdoors Manhattan’s five-star resort The Mark.

However, his affect and strategies have generally been criticised.

Satirical journal Private Eye reported that Anderson allowed Parisian macaron store Laduree to ‘promote’ the truth that they offered 4 £350 macaron towers for the infant bathe. 

The occasion resulted in a fierce debate amid claims of over-indulgence and embarrassment for Meghan when the Laduree web site boasted that the macaron towers can be one thing ‘Marie Antoinette can be pleased with’.

Private Eye additionally slightly unflatteringly claimed that Anderson ‘is understood within the gilded corridors because the Sussex Fawcett’ – a reference to Prince Charles’s former footman Michael Fawcett, who, it was as soon as claimed, was so near the long run King that he used to squeeze toothpaste on to his toothbrush.

Despite his closeness to Meghan, Anderson maintains his showbiz connections – and is an excellent buddy of TV presenter Cat Deeley, who has cast a profitable profession within the United States.

Talking about Anderson’s function with Meghan, and his suggestion of Sara Latham as her PR, a supply beforehand mentioned: ‘Marcus is nice enjoyable, very witty and amusing.

‘He is aware of everybody. He’s totally discreet. He and Sara are wonderful folks for Meghan to have on her crew.

‘Between them they know everybody on the planet of politics and showbusiness on each side of the Atlantic.

‘If Meghan and Harry want to change into a world model with their philanthropy, they might not have chosen two higher folks to information them.’

Another supply mentioned: ‘Markus is somebody who can meet anybody, be it royalty or a receptionist and he makes everybody really feel particular.

‘He is brilliantly linked, totally charming and really discreet. I’ve tried speaking to him about Meghan and all that occurs is a giant smile crosses his face.

‘He is totally loyal to her – a keeper of the secrets and techniques.’

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are in Canada for work to advertise the subsequent Invictus Games, which can be held in Vancouver and Whistler in February 2025.

Their go to got here per week after a whistleblower instructed MailOn-line that the Games is in ‘turmoil’ after two of its most senior executives had been ‘dismissed for no obvious motive’ with simply over a yr to go.