It’s been very interesting and very discombobulating to see the British press react to the news that Prince Harry has a very official new (American!) girlfriend, Meghan Markle. I read the Daily Mail every day (because it’s my job, peeps) and they have been freaking out for a week over the idea that Harry is officially with an American… who is an actress… and who is mixed race. What’s weird is that I don’t think the “girlfriend rollout” was bungled whatsoever. It was clear that Harry or someone in his press office really wanted the story to get out there, and his press people really seemed to be leaking stuff to American outlets in addition to British outlets. When the British papers get scooped by American outlets about a British prince, the result is some angst and anger. So the Daily Mail did some digging and they claim that Harry was actually dating someone else (SOMEONE BRITISH, thankyouverymuch) during the same time he was starting up with Meghan.
Prince Harry secretly dated a stunning English fashion model while he was wooing American TV star Meghan Markle, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. The Prince enjoyed a series of dates with Burberry model Sarah Ann Macklin in June and July while he was romancing Miss Markle when she visited London. Friends of Miss Macklin, 27 – who looks uncannily like the American actress – told us that Harry, 32, met the model at a private party where he took her number and bombarded her with texts, just as he is said to have done with Miss Markle.
It was unclear last night whether Miss Markle, 35, who stars in US television drama Suits, was aware that Harry was seeing a lookalike brunette while he was beginning his relationship with her. Sources say Harry’s interest in Miss Macklin brought on a jealous reaction from her chiselled ex-boyfriend David Gandy, an underwear model for Marks and Spencer.
A source close to Miss Macklin said last night: ‘Their fling is an open secret among her friends. David Gandy knew that Harry was pursuing her and tried to get her back. At one point she had the country’s most famous male model and a prince vying for her affection, and the novelty was not lost on her. She ended up turning David down and dating Prince Harry. It eventually fizzled out but they are on friendly terms.’
Another friend confirmed: ‘They were introduced at a social gathering and Harry made a beeline for her. She was very flattered by the attention and they went on a few dates. Everything was kept very below the radar. They got on, but are quite different. She is very clean living and barely drinks and in that respect they were on a different wavelength. Harry also seemed a bit non-committal and it never really got off the ground. Things fizzled out before he went to Africa for a month in August.’
I actually knew the name “Sarah Ann Macklin” because I used to be somewhat obsessed with David Gandy, and I remembered when they dated. I kind of thought they were over several years ago, but sure… maybe there was some kind of love triangle between David Gandy and Prince Harry. Some girls have all the luck, eh? That’s like the biggest “who would you rather?” real-life situation ever. Anyway, I wouldn’t doubt it – I think Harry was single and mingling and if there was some overlap with another woman during the beginning of his thing with Meghan, so be it. That wouldn’t be a dealbreaker for me, nor would it be a dealbreaker for most people. The Daily Mail is going through a passive-aggressive phase with Meghan Markle: they’re trying to make her feel bad about herself so she’ll “take her claws out” of their British prince. “Hey, girl, we like you and everything but you know he was dating other women, right?” Such nonsense.
Also: when did Harry develop such a thing for brunettes? If I had known that Harry was open to romancing brunettes, I would have flown to England to claim him a long time ago.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
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