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As preparations for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s upcoming nuptials get well and truly underway, we’re learning more and more about how the couple plan to do the next royal wedding their way. Case in point: recent reports that Meghan has asked her mother Doria to walk her down the aisle, rather than her father, and now the news that the American actress is also breaking with tradition by choosing a maid of honour.
According to reports, the former Suits star is eschewing a head bridesmaid in place of the American tradition of a maid of honour. At royal weddings, children have usually acted as bridesmaids, too, but the Duchess of Cambridge also broke with this when she chose sister Pippa Middleton to be her sole bridesmaid in 2011.
So, who had Meghan chosen for the coveted role? She may repay the favour of best friend Lindsay Roth, who asked her to be her maid of honour back in 2016. Another contender is stylist and BFF Jessica Mulroney, with fellow actresses Priyanka Shopra and Janina Gavankar being outlying choices.
One person it’s unlikely to be is her half-sister Samantha, who recently hit back at claims by Prince Harry that Meghan’s Christmas with the royals was like being with ‘the family she never had’. It’s not the first time she’s spoken out against the royal-to-be, with the two siblings being estranged for the best part of a decade.
Scroll down to see who might be in Meghan's bridal party...
Meghan Markle's bridesmaids
1 of 6Lindsay Roth
The front-runner for maid of honour is almost certainly Lindsay Roth, who chose Meghan for the same role at her own wedding last August. The Suits actress and producer and author have been friends for 15 years, with Lindsay recently telling People magazine that Meghan is 'the same girl I met years ago'. The two met at a Toni Morrison literature class during their first year of college at Northwestern University.
2 of 6Jessica Mulroney
As well as being her unofficial stylist, Jessica Mulroney is also one of Meghan's closest friends, after the two met when the actress relocated to Toronto to begin filming Suits. She is heavily present on Meghan's Instagram account, as is her daughter, Ivy, so we think it's highly likely that she'll have a role.
3 of 6Janina Gavankar
Fellow actress Janina Gavankar has known Meghan for 15 years, with the Suits star recently gushing about their friendship in an Instagram post that read: 'Couldn't be prouder of how far we've come, and couldn't be more grateful for being able to share every step of it with you.' As a long-term pal and as someone in the same industry as her, she's got a good chance of being in the bridal party.
4 of 6Priyanka Chopra
Another actress that Meghan is good friends with is Priyanka Chopra, who she met at a dinner celebrating women in Hollywood a few years ago. After Vanity Fair ran their cover story with Meghan pegged to her relationship with Prince Harry, Priyanka defended her friend, saying she was more than just 'Harry's girlfriend'.
5 of 6Serena Williams
Someone with an outside shot at being Meghan's bridesmaid is tennis ace Serena Williams. Meghan and the Wimbledon-champion have been friends since 2014 when they met at a charity football game. Despite their reported closeness, Meghan didn't attend Serena's own nuptials earlier this year, so it might be that she doesn't have a role at the royal wedding.
6 of 6Princess Charlotte
As the niece of Prince Harry, it would be a pretty adorable touch if Princess Charlotte was included in the bridal party. After all, she was part of her aunt Pippa Middleton's wedding earlier this year to James Middleton, so it's not like she hasn't had any practice.