Meghan's 'secret rock': Publicist, 40, who works for David Beckham has become one of Duchess of Sussex's 'dearest and closest friends'
- Izzy May has quietly become the Duchess of Sussex’s closest confidante
- The two women were introduced by mutual friend Markus Anderson
- Miss May attended the Royal couple’s wedding last May with Markus Anderson
A publicist who works for David Beckham has become Meghan Markle’s secret ‘rock’, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.
Izzy May has quietly become the Duchess of Sussex’s closest confidante since Meghan moved to Britain two years ago.
The two women were introduced by mutual friend Markus Anderson, a director at the A-list members’ club Soho House who arranged Meghan and Prince Harry’s first dates together.
Miss May attended the Royal couple’s wedding last May with Mr Anderson. She was seated in the second row on the bride’s side – in front of Serena Williams, Oprah Winfrey and the Clooneys – to signify her closeness to Meghan.
Markus Anderson (C) and Izzy May (R) arrive at the wedding of Prince Harry to Ms Meghan Markle at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018
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Until now, however, 40-year-old Miss May’s key role supporting Meghan has never emerged, not least because she shuns social media and adamantly refuses to trade on her Royal connections.
Last night a source said: ‘Izzy is one of Meghan’s dearest and closest friends and she values her friendship so very much. Izzy keeps their relationship really quiet and very much under the radar.
‘The time they spend together is private. She helped Meghan adjust to life in London when she moved here from Canada. Meghan relied on her a lot. They are just like any two young female friends. They totally support one another and enjoy lots of social activities together.’
Miss May was seated in the second row on the bride’s side – in front of Serena Williams, Oprah Winfrey and the Clooneys – to signify her closeness to Meghan
Educated at Sussex University, where she studied history, Miss May joined London-based PR agency Freuds in 2001.
Among her clients was Soho House and she quickly became friends with Mr Anderson and club owner Nick Jones, who is married to TV presenter Kirsty Young.
In 2011 she was appointed head of communications for Burberry – the fashion brand that has employed Beckham’s sons Romeo and Brooklyn – and last year moved to the former England captain’s company DB Ventures, where she is chief marketing officer.
A key part of her job will be to steer through his plans to launch a football team in Miami next year.
Meghan Duchess of Sussex at the Trooping the Colour ceremony in London today
David and Victoria Beckham also attended last year’s Royal Wedding.
Writing on LinkedIn, Miss May embraced PR jargon as she spoke about using relationships to develop business. She said: ‘I believe in the importance of “connectivity” – using the relationship between media partners, stakeholders and influencers, plus their knowledge of the sector, to generate unique insights that drive strategy formulation and communications planning. Connectivity also means developing key relationships.... to implement the strategy.’
Meghan has worn several items from Victoria Beckham’s clothing range, and took a private jet laid on by Mr Jones last September to attend the opening of a branch of Soho House in Amsterdam.
David and Victoria Beckham also attended last year’s Royal Wedding alongside Miss May. Mr Beckham is pictured at House 99 opening in Paris last month
But the source said Miss May has agreed with Meghan that they will not discuss her professional life. It is understood that Miss May, who lives in West London, is keen to avoid the kind of conflict-of-interest controversies that have dogged several of Meghan’s other friends.
Last month, this newspaper revealed how Harry and Meghan’s official Instagram page promoted a £900-a-night retreat run by fitness guru Taryn Toomey, one of Meghan’s close friends. Miss May maintained her discretion last night, and declined to comment.
