Meghan Markle showed off her impressive calligraphy skills in the trailer for her new Netflix cookery show.
The Duchess of Sussex, who is 43 years old, was caught on camera creating labels for homemade candles, potentially for her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard. This sneak peek is from her upcoming show ‘With Love, Meghan’ consisting of eight episodes.
Shared on Meghan’s new Instagram account, the trailer features the royal guiding her friend and makeup artist Daniel Martin on the art of writing calligraphy labels.
In the video, we witness Daniel delicately placing the label on a candle as Meghan expresses, ‘This is a bonding experience with friends. I cherish our inaugural collaboration.’
Daniel is believed to have known Meghan for over a decade, having met her while the former actress worked on Suits.
However it’s not the first time Meghan shared her calligraphy skills, as she taught calligraphy, gift-wrapping and book-binding at the Paper Source store in Beverly Hills from 2004 to 2005 when she was a jobbing actress trying to make ends meet.
In addition to her job at Paper Source, she also worked as a freelance calligrapher, famously writing the invitations for celebrities Robin Thicke and Paula Patton’s wedding in 2005.
And she appears to have prompted a surge in sales of calligraphy craft kits with a 2018 trends report from Hobbycraft detailing an increase in interest in calligraphy kits, up 40 per cent from 2017.
Meghan Markle showed off her impressive calligraphy skills, alongside her friend and makeup artist Daniel Martin in the trailer for her new Netflix cookery show
The Duchess of Sussex , 43, can be seen writing labels for homemade candles, which could possibly be for her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard which she launched in 2024, in a teaser clip for her eight-episode series ‘With Love, Meghan’
Hobbycraft noted that sales peaked over the summer period, in line with the Royal Wedding on the 19 May 2018.
Customer director Katherine Paterson said: ‘Putting pen to paper is becoming more popular and there’s no doubt that the Duchess of Sussex has helped to raise the profile of calligraphy writing. Our calligraphy range continues to sell well and we only expect this to continue.’
Winnie Park, CEO of Paper Source in the US has previously spoken about Meghan’s calligraphy sessions.
She told PEOPLE: ‘She taught calligraphy and hosted a group of customers and instructed them during a two-hour class on how to do calligraphy.
‘She would have advised customers on projects — from wedding invitations to creating personalised stationary to gift-wrapping,’ she adds. ‘She has talked about being a big fan of custom stationary and thinks it’s the best gift to give a friend.’
Meghan wrote about her love of handwritten notes on her former lifestyle blog, The Tig saying: ‘I think handwritten notes are a lost art form.
‘When I booked my first [TV] pilot, my dad wrote me a letter that I still have. The idea of someone taking the time to put pen to paper is really special.’
Daniel is a New York-based makeup artist who began his career as an independent makeup artist in 2004.
Fans got a glimpse of Meghan’s penmanship in 2019, when Author Matt Haig shared a thank you note he received from her after she featured his poem in her guest-edited Vogue issue
Their relationship began when Meghan didn’t have a publicist, therefore she personally reached out to Daniel’s agent at The Wall Group – and he described how they both had an ‘instant connection.’
‘I knew what she wanted—it was one of those things where, she looked at herself in the mirror and was like, ‘Oh my God, this is what I always wanted, but I didn’t know how to get there,’ he told the publication.
The pair then kept in touch and while working on her former blog The Tig, Meghan asked Daniel to give her a helping hand.
He has remained in contact with the Duchess throughout her life in the royal family and was by Meghan’s side on her wedding day as he perfected her make-up.
Daniel showed his support of Meghan’s return to social media earlier this week, declaring ‘my sis is back’.
On Wednesday Meghan shared an elusive clip of herself running down the beach – the first post to be shared on her brand new social media handle @meghan.
In the video, shared with 112,000 followers, which has now quickly jumped to one million, the wife of Prince Harry runs towards the shoreline of a beach in an all-white ensemble.
As she reaches the ocean, she draws the digits of the New Year – 2025 – into the sand, perhaps hinting at change to come in the months ahead.
Daniel, who is often described as the mother-of-two’s best friend, was quick to show his support for the Duchess of Sussex as she teased plans for the year ahead
Daniel Martin (above) is often described as Meghan Markle’s best friend
The pair, pictured together, are believed to have last worked together in May 2022, when Meghan and Harry visited the Netherlands for the Invictus Games
The clip is thought to have been filmed by Prince Harry near to their home in Montecito, California.
Hailing Meghan’s return to social media, her friend Daniel Martin shared the clip on his own Instagram, writing: ‘My sis is back!’
He added: ‘Watch this space…’
Fans got a glimpse of Meghan’s penmanship in 2019, when author Matt Haig shared a thank you note he received from her after she featured his poem in her guest-edited Vogue issue.
The duchess revealed her flawless handwriting in a thank you letter sent to an author, praising his book ‘A note from the beach’ as a ‘household favourite’.
Posting a picture of the letter from the Duchess, written in calligraphy on a monogrammed ‘M’ card, Matt admitted that he ‘wishes he could tell my young hopeless suicidal self about all of this magic to stay alive for.’
In the September of 2019 issue of British Vogue, Meghan hailed his poem, which is an ode from a beach telling swimmers not to be body-conscious.
In the note, written on headed paper, The Duchess said: ‘Dear Matt, since reading ‘Notes on a Nervous Planet’ last fall, it instantly became a household favourite.
‘When I knew I would be guest editing the September issue of British Vogue I knew you had to be a part of it.
‘Thank you for being a force for change. The world needs more of you!’
He shared his glee in receiving the note and said that he can now ‘die happy’.
Matt said: ‘Got home to some unusual mail, amid all the bills and magazines.
‘An envelope from Kensington Palace.
‘HRH Duchess Meghan called me a ‘force for change’ and now I can die happy.
‘This year is beyond anything I imagined, years ago, getting rejection after rejection from publishers.
‘I would love to go back in time and tell my young hopeless suicidal self about all of this magic to stay alive for.’
He quipped on Meghan’s perfect writing and added: ‘Persist. (I have now enrolled for handwriting classes.)”
