I met Prince Harry’s future wife, Meghan Markle, about four years ago.
OK, “met” isn’t quite accurate. I’m pretty sure I pushed past her trying to get to somebody more recognizable to do an interview.
If I’d only known…
Markle, who’s scheduled to marry Prince Harry at Windsor Castle on May 18, is a regular on the USA Network series “Suits.” And on Jan. 18, 2014, she was on a panel at the Television Critics Association press tour.
(Photo by: Shane Mahood/USA Network) Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane and Patrick J. Adams as Michael Ross in “Suits.”
Through no fault of her own, she was not the center of attention. Markle is not the star the legal drama, she’s one of the co-stars. She plays Rachel Zane, who started out as a paralegal on the series, which debuted in June 2011, and became a lawyer.
The series centers on the character of Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), her onscreen love interest. We know Markle is being written out at the end of Season 7, which completed production earlier this year and will air in 2018; there’s speculation Adams is leaving, too.
The way TCA press tour works is that after actors and producers appear at a news conference, those of us with further questions head to the stage for follow-ups. And I’m pretty sure I kind of pushed past Markle to get to Adams. I certainly didn’t stop to talk to her.
It’s not as if I was the only one who failed to pay much attention to the future royal. The transcript of the “Suits” press conference shows that Markle was asked exactly zero questions. That’s right. Zero.
Oh, she did get to talk a few times when questions were thrown at the entire panel. Perhaps most notably when the discussion turned to the adult language in “Suits” and whether moving to an earlier time slot would affect the cursing.
“Is that going to change for us being at 9 o’clock — the s---s and the dammits?” Markle asked.
“S--- no,” replied creator/executive producer Aaron Korsh.
Pretty funny.
I’m guessing Markle will be using fewer s---s and dammits (at least in public) once she’s a member of the royal family.
The fact is Markle appeared at TCA press tour a couple of years before she even started dating Prince Harry. She was just another actor on just another show. There was no way we could possibly have known that she would end up engaged to Queen Elizabeth II’s grandson.
(Photo courtesy of Nigel Parry/USA Network) Patrick J. Adams as Michael Ross and Meghan Markle as Rachel Zane in “Suits.”
How different things would be if Markle appeared at a news conference today. (Which seems highly unlikely.)
I’d like to think I’d be professional and dignified. Certainly, Markle is newsworthy. But I’m not overly impressed by royalty.
Prince Edward — who will be Markle’s uncle-in-law after the wedding — was at a TCA press tour sometime pre-2006. I know that I saw him. But, for the life of me, I can’t remember why he was there. What show he was representing. Or anything he said.
But I’m sure I didn’t push past him to get to somebody else.
