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Lillie Langtry, celebrated for her beauty and charm, took up acting in the early 1880s, after her notorious affair with the then-Prince of Wales (later King Edward VII) tailed off.
Famous for her royal association, feted by high society, painted by the greatest artists of the day, she was a sensation, touring Britain and the United States to great acclaim.
Known for her magnetic stage presence, business acumen and sheer naked ambition, she was a Hollywood star before it even existed.
She understood the value of a celebrity endorsement (she became the poster girl for Pear’s soap in 1882) and successfully monetised her talent, looks and royal connections, using them to fund a lavish lifestyle.
Remind you of anyone?
This week, it was revealed that the Duchess of Sussex is to make a return to acting, starring in a new movie alongside Lily Collins, Brie Larson and Jack Quaid.
She will reportedly play herself in Close Personal Friends, a comedy about two couples where one is famous and the other is not.
Something similar has been done before, of course: Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant in Richard Curtis’s blockbuster Notting Hill. No doubt the scriptwriters will again take the opportunity to reflect on the vicissitudes of fame in the modern world.
This week, it was revealed that the Duchess of Sussex is to make a return to acting, starring in a new movie where she will reportedly play herself
Actress Lillie Langtry was famous for her royal association, feted by high society, painted by the greatest artists of the day
Who knows, there may even be an opportunity to reprise that famous line of Roberts’s: ‘I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.’ Substitute ‘boy’ for ‘Prince’, and it’ll bring the house down.
It’s a power move by the duchess, and a good one. The power of a great movie is not to be underestimated. Audiences can become deeply invested in a well-written character, even more so if there’s an element of art imitating life.
If it’s done skilfully, and Meghan pulls it off, this could well end up being a chance for her to reshape her narrative in a way she hasn’t quite achieved through all her interview confessionals, podcasts and TV shows.
It’s also the first thing she’s done since leaving royal life that feels truly authentic. Let’s face it, no one really believes that she makes her own jam, dries her own rose petals, or actually eats any of the sickly-sweet calorie-laden treats she shoves down viewers’ throats.
All that wafting around the kitchen arranging fruit, all that giggling in greenhouses: it just comes across as an act. There have been too many unintentionally revealing flashes of petulance, too many cracks in the icing, for the public to buy her saintly domestic goddess shtick.
We’ve all witnessed the flash of steel when things don’t quite go her way. Who can forget her icy, ‘You know, I’m Sussex now?’ to her Hollywood friend in Season 1 of her Netflix ‘With Love’ show? Poor Mindy Kaling’s cheeks are probably still smarting now.
No, the reason this move feels authentic is because it’s a return to form. Before she met Prince Harry, Meghan Markle was a fame-hungry actress. After a brief royal hiatus, she’s back where she has always wanted to be. Only this time it’s Hollywood knocking on her door, not the other way around.
The Duchess was 36 when she finally walked up that aisle (for the second time). Who knows where her acting career might have gone, had she not married a Prince?
Meghan was seen getting into a Range Rover before being driven to the set of her new film
Before the dutchess met Prince Harry, Meghan Markle was a fame-hungry actress. After a brief royal hiatus, she’s back where she has always wanted to be, writes Sarah Vine
Now, she comes back to Hollywood with a whole new USP. Like Langtry, she has the added value of royal association.
I suppose the question in the back of some people’s minds is: was this always part of the plan? Was it always her intention that, in marrying Prince Harry, Meghan would raise her profile to global stardom – and open up opportunities simply not available to a jobbing actress on a little-known legal soap?
One would have to be a tad cynical to believe that. But her subsequent fame-hungry behaviour and shameless, unequivocal trading on her royal connections don’t exactly give the lie to the idea.
And there is perhaps something about the speed at which she and Harry scarpered from royal life (barely two years after she started it) which does make one wonder.
That’s not to imply that she wasn’t serious about marrying Harry; merely that the life of a dutiful royal spouse was never to be part of her repertoire.
I wonder what her husband thinks. The official line from their friends is: ‘Prince Harry is, of course, really supportive and quite simply wants Meghan to do whatever brings her joy.’ I don’t doubt it. I imagine it’s more than his life is worth to displease her or stand in the way of her ambitions. Happy wife, happy life, as they say.
But he must wonder, sometimes, where all this leaves him. After all, acting is the Duchess’s profession; it makes sense that she should return to it. Aside from his military roles, Prince Harry’s only real job was being a royal, something that he is no longer able to do – largely thanks to her.
Will it rankle to see his wife soaring to new heights of fame (and no doubt fortune) while he remains rather constrained in his options? Shooting schedules can be demanding, requiring long periods away from home, plus there’s all the inevitable publicity.
The official line from their friends is: ‘Prince Harry is, of course, really supportive and quite simply wants Meghan to do whatever brings her joy’
Will he suddenly find himself a ‘spare’ in more than just the royal sense, a mere plus-one to his glamorous wife? One would hope not. But it certainly seems to be the case that while the duchess seems to have found plenty of purpose in her new life back home in America, Prince Harry is still searching for his.
So often he appears as her bumbling sidekick, always dutifully amiable but invariably more of an extra than a main character. Who knows, perhaps he’s happy in that role. But that’s not the impression one gets from reading his book, or observing his past actions.
In particular, his commitment and connection to the Armed Forces and veterans remains as strong and sincere as ever.
I wouldn’t be surprised if, with his wife busy on set, he doesn’t find himself quietly rebuilding a few bridges. It’s perhaps no coincidence that he has also, this week, written a short essay entitled The Bond, The Banter, The Bravery in honour of Remembrance Sunday.
In it he talks about the ‘stoic spirit’, self-deprecation and humour of ‘us Brits’, reminiscing about the ‘banter of the mess, the clubhouse, the pub, the stands’.
He adds that ‘Britain is, and always will be, the country I proudly served and fought for’.
It’s a short but heartfelt missive and one that, for all it may have found itself eclipsed by the headlines surrounding the duchess, speaks of a longing that may never go away.
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