The Jewish Matchmaker Who Introduced Meghan Markle And Prince Harry

Meghan Markle (L) and Misha Nonoo attend the 12th annual CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Awards on November 2, 2015 in New York City. Image by Andrew Toth/Getty Images

By Aiden Pink November 29, 2017

It’s the question the world is dying to know — who set up Britain’s Prince Harry and his new fiancee, Meghan Markle?

The royal couple told the BBC that they were set up by a mutual friend, but declined to identify her: Markle said that the couple should “protect her privacy and not reveal too much of that.”

Veteran royal-watchers believe that the “her” in question is Misha Nonoo, a fashion designer who is one of Markle’s closest friends. Nonoo also attended the wedding of Harry’s brother Prince to Kate Middleton, and her ex-husband Alexander Gilkes (who reportedly converted to Judaism to marry her) used to employ Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie.

Markle has frequently been seen wearing one of Nonoo’s outfits, including during her first public appearance with Prince Harry earlier this year. Actresses such as Emma Watson and Cate Blanchett have also worn her styles.

Nonoo has been a trailblazer at using new technologies to promote her fashion line, the Jewish Chronicle reported: She was the first designer to debut a runway collection on Instagram in 2015, and shared another line on Snapchat last year.

Nonoo is a globetrotter: She was born in the Persian Gulf nation of Bahrain, raised in London, educated in Paris and is now based in New York. Nonoo comes from a influential Bahraini Jewish family. Her aunt Houda Nonoo was the first Jew to be appointed as an ambassador from an Arab country, serving as Bahrain’s envoy to the United States from 2008-2013. Another relative, Ebrahim Daoud Nonoo, is a prominent local businessman and a former member of the country’s parliament.

When asked for comment on whether Misha Nonoo was Harry and Meghan’s shadchanit, Nonoo’s representative told People magazine: “Misha will not be discussing anything surrounding her relationship with Meghan.”

Contact Aiden Pink at [email protected]

Aiden Pink is the Deputy News Editor for the Forward. Contact him at [email protected] or on Twitter, @aidenpink.

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