Who Will Go To Meghan Markle's Hen Do And Prince Harry's Stag Do?

From ELLE UK

The announcement of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 2018 royal wedding has spurred a whole host of questions and speculation.

Who will design her dress? Who will be her bridesmaid? Will the ceremony be televised? Will Prince William be Prince Harry's best man? The list really is endless...

Now, we move on to arguably one of the most important parts of any engaged couple's wedding plans: The hen and stag do.

In 2011, roughly a month before the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, William and pals enjoyed a stag do. While St James's Palace was very keen to keep details on the down-low, there were reports the group headed down to Devon for a country retreat that, we're sure, was very wholesome...

Kate Middleton also had a low-key party, with reports at the time suggesting the event, organised by her sister and maid of honour Pippa Middleton, was a small party held at a friend's house with just a few of her closest friends attending.

Assuming, Prince Harry and Meghan follow similar lines - although Harry not being an heir to the throne might give them more freedom to throw a full-blown party - here's an idea of who might be on the guest list.

The Hen: Serena Williams

Markle and Williams have been friends for about seven years and the two have recently spoken about each other in interviews, proving their friendship remains rock-solid.

The tennis champ told Vanity Fair Markle has a personality which "just shines" and the former Suits actress told Vogue that Williams would be an amazing Mum because she is "so attuned to balancing strength and sensitivity" (Williams has since given birth to an adorable little girl).

Markle was not photographed at the tennis supreme's recent New Orleans wedding to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, despite attendance from other celebs including Beyoncé, Jay Z, Kim Kardashian and Eva Longoria, but maybe that's just because as the current holder of the title: world's most talked about woman, she didn't want to upstage her friend on her big day.

Whatever the reason, if Williams' busy schedule allows it, we're sure she wouldn't want to miss Markle's bachelorette party for anything.

The Stag: The Duke of Cambridge

Since news of the engagement broke, there's been speculation that Prince Harry would return the favour and make his elder brother his best man. Some reports have said Harry has already asked Prince William to be by his side during the ceremony.

However, there's also been suggestions this might not be the case as, technically, in royal weddings there is no "best man" position, instead the groom has "supporters". However, the Duke clearly broke this protocol during his 2011 wedding.

Whatever the best man situation, there's no doubt he'll go along for the stag do.

The Hen: Priyanka Chopra

The actress and former Miss World is one of Markle's closest friends and confidants and someone who consistently has Markle's back. After her friend's Vanity Fair cover story, Chopra suggested the magazine should have written more about Markle and her achievements as an actor, activist and philanthropist, rather than just her boyfriend.

Before this, Chopra corrected US talk show host Wendy Williams when she referred to Markle as 'Prince Harry's girlfriend'.

'She has her own achievements... just saying!' she interjected.

With a friend as loyal as Chopra, we're sure Markle will want her support for this whole royal wedding ride, including the hen do.

The Stag: Guy Pelly

If you had a friend who owned a string of nightclubs in London's Mayfair, you'd probably count on them to be a pretty good addition to your stag do, wouldn't you?

Guy Pelly - who previously worked for celeb hotspot Mahiki before opening his own clubs Whiskey Mist and Public (both now closed) and Tonteria in Kensington - is a close friend of both the Princes and was rumoured to have had a hand in organising the Duke of Cambridge's stag in 2011.

No doubt he'll be bringing his combination of stag do and nightclub opening expertise to Harry's stag.

The Hen: Sarah Rafferty

Just because Markle is leaving Suits behind, that doesn't have to mean she'll be losing touch with the close friends she made on the show.

One of these friends is Sarah Rafferty, who plays the formidable secretary Donna in the show. Rafferty has respected Markle and Harry's privacy by expertly swerving any questions about her friend's royal romance in interviews.

After their engagement was announced, Rafferty shared a subtle, yet thoughtful, congratulatory post on Twitter:

The Stag: Tom Inskip

Harry and Markle reached a major relationship milestone earlier this year thanks to the prince's good schoolfriend Tom Inskip when Harry chose to take Markle as his date to the management consultant's wedding in Jamaica in March.

According to The Telegraph, Inskip, nicknamed Skippy, has been present for many of the Prince's shenanigans over the years, including the infamous nakedness in Las Vegas, jumping into a swimming pool fully clothed in Croatia in 2011 and throwing snowballs from a balcony in Switzerland later in 2011.

With a history like this, and the fact Harry was an usher at Skippy's wedding, he's sure to make the cut for the stag do.

The Hen: Misha Nonoo

Fashion designer Misha Nonoo is largely rumoured to be the person who set Prince Harry and Markle up in 2016. Though the couple didn't reveal the mutual-friend-turned-matchmaker's name during their engagement interview, the fact Nonoo knows both parties separately added fuel to the fire.

Markle also chose to wear Nonoo's design for her first public outing with Prince Harry at the Invictus Games in Toronto, back in September.

With such an involvement already in the royal couple's lives, we're sure she'll be celebrating with Meghan at the hen do.

The Stag: Arthur Landon

One of Prince Harry's oldest friends is Arthur Landon, who is estimated to be worth around £200 million and even features on the Sunday Times rich list.

Landon will likely be at the stag do due to his fierce loyalty to the prince. He famously had Harry's back after the whole Vegas naked picture situation, when he called the woman who sold the photographs of the young royal in the, er, compromising situation "despicable", according to the Daily Mail.

The Hen: The Duchess of Cambridge

Though we're unlikely to see the Duchess of Cambridge stumbling out of a nightclub with angel wings and a sash on - especially considering she is expecting to give birth to her third child the month before the wedding takes place - if Markle does have a quiet celebration to mark her hen do, Kate Middleton could well be there.

Markle is joining the family, after all, and in the couple's joint interview to mark their engagement, Markle and Harry both spoke about how "amazing" and "wonderful" the Duchess had been in helping Markle adjust to the royal spotlight. In a statement, the Duke and Duchess said it had been "wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see how happy she and Harry are together".

The Stag: Mike Tindall

You can always count on a rugby player to get the party started... especially when that rugby player was captain for the English national team and is married to your cousin. Mike Tindall, husband to Princess Anne's daughter Zara and father to their daughter Mia, has been photographed larking around with Harry before, even hugging/wrestling at a polo match in 2011.

Tindall was also one of the only members of the royal family to comment publicly on Markle in the early days of her dating his relative-by-marriage, saying she will cope absolutely fine by joining the royal family and that he can't wait to meet her. No doubt Markle also liked the sound of him, after he admitted to being a "big Suits fan".

The Hen: Amanda Schull