Royal fans speculate they know who joined Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on their Disneyland trip - and it's the 'best friend' thought to have 'vanished' from their lives
Royal fans have speculated they know who joined Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on their Disneyland trip - and it's someone thought to have 'vanished' from their lives.
The Duchess of Sussex, 43, and her husband, 40, recently enjoyed a family trip to the 'Happiest Place On Earth' with their children Archie, seven, and Lilibet, four.
Following their visit, Meghan shared a happy video montage to her Instagram account, as the family enjoyed the thrilling rides, met Disney characters and spent quality time together.
In several pictures, Harry, Meghan, Archie and Lili were all in the pictures - meaning the photographs must have been taken by an unnamed cameraman.
Another snap showed Harry and Meghan screaming with joy on the Space Mountain rollercoaster.
In this photo, and in another on the Cars Land ride, Meghan had obscured those sitting behind her by using black heart emojis to cover their faces.
Nonetheless, eagle-eyed royal fans were soon convinced they'd uncovered the identity of the Sussexes' mysterious companion.
'Is that Markus Anderson behind her?' one wrote on Twitter, referring to the Soho House mogul who helped matchmake the couple more then eight years ago.
Another speculated: 'I think Markus Anderson was with them so he was probably took the photos,' while a third added: 'Markus Anderson from Soho House is in the back. This guy is always with Meghan. lol.'
Others wrote: 'It was Marcus Anderson taking the pics' and 'I think it was Marcus Anderson!'
MailOnline has reached out to representatives for the Sussexes for comment.
Anderson is widely credited with helping the couple's romance flourish in its early days and has been by Meghan's side for many years.
He was with her when she made her first public outing with Harry at the Invictus Games in 2017.
He also acted as her 'bouncer' as she made her way through the drones of photographers outside a New York hotel for her baby shower in 2019 - meaning it's not beyond the realms of possibility that he could have taken on another 'security' style role in accompanying the family to Disneyland.
However, although he was pictured with Prince Harry on a visit to Soho House in Austin in March 2024, more recently he was said to have 'vanished' from their inner circle.
This March, a friend of Anderson told the Mail that his bond with Meghan 'may' not be as tight as it once was.
This was put down to Anderson's extremely busy professional life as an executive at Soho House, which means he travels 'almost constantly.' The private members club now has 42 outposts around the globe.
Notably, Anderson did not appear in the first season of her Netflix cookery show, With Love, Meghan, and is not believed to be lined up for season two.
His friend admitted: 'He just really is not comfortable in the spotlight... it's not his thing.'
The last time he and Meghan were spotted together was at a baby shower for a mutual friend in December. And before that, he hadn't been pictured with her in years.
But once, Markus was the friend that the Duchess of Sussex couldn't be without.
While Meghan and Harry are widely believed to have first met on a blind date in London set up by designer Misha Nonoo, it was in Canada – and more specifically at Markus' Soho House – that their love blossomed.
He reportedly arranged for the couple to meet secretly in private rooms at the club, and helped them escape on romantic weekend getaways together.
As several photos were taken from behind, people suspected that Anderson was the Sussexes' photographer for the day
The consultant has been dubbed as the 'second most important man in her life.'
The Canadian-born businessman arranged Meghan's low-key bachelorette weekend at Soho Farmhouse, in the Cotswolds.
On his birthday in August 2016, Meghan wrote in a celebratory post on Instagram: 'What would I do without you, my loving, supportive, and endlessly fun friend? I know what... I would be bored, and life would be infinitely less interesting. I love you SO much.'
Meghan even referred to Markus as 'uncle' to her two dogs Guy and Bogart, and was photographed on a lavish vacation with him in Madrid in 2016.
On Friday, the mother-of-two shared a montage from the two-day Disneyland vacation as the family had a blast on numerous rides and indulged in yummy treats.
One snippet showed both Lilibet and Archie getting the chance to meet Disney princess Elsa from Frozen.
Meghan held her children's hands as they slowly walked over to take pictures with the character in a sweet moment.
The Duchess of Sussex uploaded a new Instagram post that included special moments from their visit to the Happiest Place on Earth to celebrate Lilibet's fourth birthday
Meghan and Harry's kids also had fun on some rides at the amusement park such as Dumbo the Flying Elephant and the Cars ride.
The couple - who tied the knot in 2018 - were spotted having a blast of their own as they sat at the front while on Space Mountain together.
One short reel included in the post was taken as the family-of-four excitedly explored Disneyland and also visited the Star Wars troopers.
Harry flashed a cheerful smile as he turned towards the camera while sitting next to Lilibet on another ride.
At one point, Markle and her family were also seen sporting matching Mickey and Minnie Mouse hats on top of their heads.
They later built up an appetite and one picture was taken to show a pile of corndogs and pickles on a table.
Lilibet also received a Little Mermaid-themed cake that was covered in hues of blue sugary frosting while 'Happy Birthday Lili' was written in pink icing.
The Instagram post also had a sweet family photo as they posed outside with a small river behind them.
In the caption, Meghan penned to her 3.6 million followers: 'Thank you @disneyland for giving our family two days of pure joy!'
On Wednesday last week, Markle jumped to her main Instagram page to share a rare photo of herself with daughter Lilibet to celebrate her birthday which took place on June 4.
One short reel included in the post was taken as the family-of-four excitedly explored Disneyland and also visited the Star Wars troopers
In the black and white image, the actress could be seen holding her daughter as they enjoyed a boat ride on the water.
She also wrote, 'Happy birthday to our beautiful girl! Four years ago today she came into our lives - and each day is brighter and better because of it. Thanks to all of those sending love and celebrating her special day!'
In a separate post, Meghan uploaded a snap of her husband Harry gently holding Lilibet when she was a newborn.
Another picture was taken a couple years later as the pair ran along a dirt path at a scenic tropical location.
'The sweetest bond to watch unfold. Daddy's little girl and favorite adventurer. Happy birthday Lili!' Meghan typed out.
She also shared a throwback reel of herself twerking to help induce labor ahead of Lilibet's birth - and the clip went viral last week.
Meghan could be seen wearing a black dress as she showed off dance moves along with Prince Harry.
'Four years ago today, this also happened,' she began to explain in the caption.
'Both of our children were a week past their due dates… so when spicy food, all that walking, and acupuncture didn't work - there was only one thing left to do!'
Meghan and Prince Harry reside in a Montecito home with Archie and Lilibet - and the Suits alum has previously opened up about their family life.
During an interview with People a few months earlier in March, Markle reflected on how they go about each day with 'normalcy.'
'Once you know us, I think you want us to have the same normalcy as parents and for our children as they do, despite however unique our situation is,' she explained to the outlet.
'We go to a lot of dinners, and not just in people's homes or private rooms; we just go into the restaurant. I really love that we can just have fun.'
She has been keeping busy and back in March, her Netflix series With Love, Meghan premiered and has also been renewed for a second season.
Later this month, Markle will also make an appearance at the Natural History Museums of Los Angeles County's Night of Wonder event on Saturday, June 14.
It is not known if Prince Harry will also attend with Meghan - but the ball will take place on the same day as Trooping the Colour.
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