While familial tensions may linger in the UK, Prince Harry has forged a close-knit circle of friends in California that feels like family. Celebrating his 40th birthday at his Montecito home, the Duke of SusđâŻđ has transformed potential loneliness into a supportive community.
One of his closest friends, Nacho Figueras, referred to Harry as his “brother” in a heartfelt birthday tribute, ending the post with “love you.”
Harryâs new connections extend beyond friendships; he has also gained a ‘surrogate father,’ a second mother, and even a ‘fairy godmother.’ Hereâs a look at the individuals stepping in as family members for Prince Harry in his new life.
‘BROTHER’ NACHO FIGUERAS
It’s thought their friendship dates back to 2007 – so perhaps it’s no surprise that Nacho Figueras has become a supportive figure in Prince Harry’s new life, away from the Royal Family.
Nacho dubbed the Duke of SusđâŻđ his ‘brother’ in a gushing tribute post on Instagram to mark his 40th birthday on Sunday, writing: ‘Happy 40th brother. From the polo fields to all the moments in between, I’m grateful for the bond we share. Here’s to many more laughs, memories, and good times ahead. Love you.’
They have played polo alongside one another in various matches over the years, and Nacho, 47, has become one of Harry and Meghan Markle‘s most vocal supporters, praising them in magazine interviews and during TV appearances.
The father-of-four – dubbed the ‘David Beckham of Polo’ – was also among a handful of the Duke and Duchess’s closest confidantes who appeared in the couple’s Netflix documentary.
In September 2019, Nacho – who witnessed the early days of the couple’s romance and was later a guest at their wedding – appeared on Ellen DeGeneres’ show to announce that he would ‘defend his friends’ with his life.
The millionaire appears totally at ease with mentioning his friendship with the royal in interviews, for in that same year, he told Town and Country magazine: ‘What I like the most about [Harry] is how real he is and how serious he is about improving life for kids that have not had the blessings that we’ve had.’
He also described Meghan as ‘incredible’ and praised the former actress for ‘giving up everything for the man she loves’ in the SusđâŻđes’ Netflix documentary.
During the Harry & Meghan docuseries, Nacho also revealed how the prince confided in him after sharing a first date with Meghan.
He described how him and his wife, Delfina Blaquier, went for dinner with Harry shortly after the prince met his future wife in 2017.
Nacho said: ‘He looked at us and said ”guys, I met a girl, we’ve just met but I think this might be the one”. You could tell right away that those eyes were those of someone who’d fallen in love.’
Elsewhere, the polo player isn’t afraid to showcase his friendship with the prince on his social media page. In 2022, he shared a post praising the Duke on Instagram, writing: ‘What a joy to see you smile and be so happy. I love being your teammate.’
He also took to his account in May 2019 to prove his loyalty to his friend, stating: ‘The world thinks they know everything about this man. I have been fortunate enough to spend enough time over the years to learn and understand the man he really is.’
The polo player went on to describe the prince as being kind, generous, compassionate and ‘constantly thinking about how to make the world a better place.’
Nacho was among the first to meet Meghan and Harry’s son Archie in 2019 in Windsor – and it seems the special occasion made its mark on the polo player, who launched a scent named after the British town.
In December 2019, Nacho launched a perfume named after Harry’s hometown while hinting at ‘a brotherhood of kindred spirits’ with the Duke.
He released a range of six different perfumes inspired by his travels around the world, including one called ‘Windsor’, which he said he hoped would ‘bring feelings of every kind of paradise.’
Posting on Instagram about the launch, the Argentinian wrote: ‘The locations that inspired this collection evoke sentimental memories of time spent there with my wife Delfina and our children.’
A portion of the sales proceeds from the fragrances were donated to Prince Harry’s charity Sentebale.
Meanwhile, Nacho appears to be a main character in Harry’s new life in the US – with the pair enjoying polo matches together at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club as teammates.
While they may appear to come from different worlds, it is their shared love of polo which has pulled them into a close friendship.
Described by Tatler as ‘the David Beckham of Polo’ Nacho now holds a 6-goal handicap and an estimated net worth of $30million and has been modelling for Ralph Lauren since 2000.
But modelling was never the goal for the athlete, who began his career just to earn some extra cash and bring more attention to his beloved sport.
He and Harry have been playing alongside each other in charity matches for the past decade, ultimately resulting in them becoming like ‘brothers’.
Both Harry and Nacho regularly play in Sentebale’s charity matches to raise funds for Sentebale, an organisation co-founded by Prince Harry that supports children and young people affected by HIV in southern Africa.
Charity is another common interest for Nacho and the Duke, with the polo player actively praising the royal over the years for his work.
Nacho has been to Lesotho with Harry at least three times, most recently opening the Mamohato Centre together in 2015.
He said the charity, of which he is an ambassador, remained ‘incredibly close to our hearts’. He also revealed that Harry was ‘the first one to wake up’ during their trips to Lesotho, and was always up to date with the goings-on.
Nacho said that the Duke would often point out things which should be fixed, as well as asking for updates on equipment.
Fatherhood is another topic which he is believed to have bonded with the Duke of SusđâŻđ over.
Shortly after Harry’s son Archie was born, Nacho praised the royal as an ‘amazing’ parent and said he is ‘very, very happy’ about fatherhood. The polo player was among the first to meet Archie, having visited Windsor shortly after his birth.
He said: ‘He seems to be really, really happy so I’m very happy and excited for him. I’ve been saying this for a long time, he’s a person that loves children.
‘I’ve seen him interact with children for a very long time in all these things that we do in Africa so I’m not surprised he’s an amazing father.’
‘FATHER FIGURE’ DAVID FOSTER
Since moving across the pond, Prince Harry has formed a close relationship with Canadian composer David Foster, 74, and his American idol runner up wife, Katharine McPhee, 40.
David, who is just a year younger than Prince Charles, has been described by some as a ‘father figure’ to Harry, and also helped the SusđâŻđ couple find their Canadian hideaway before they moved to California.
The prince is known to have had a strained relationship with the King and his brother Prince William, since he and Meghan quit as royals and emigrated to the US.
In May 2020, Katharine told Access Hollywood: ‘My husband has a really, really beautiful relationship with Harry. They’re so cute. They’re like father and son.’
She explained how David helped set the SusđâŻđes up with their Canadian $14.1 million mansion hideaway before they moved to LA.
‘David is the resource guy,’ Katharine said. ‘He knows all the places. He loves to help people. We just hope they end up somewhere where they feel like they can really settle down,’ she said at the time.
David said that he hooked the couple up with the sprawling property, which was located on the waterfront in North Saanich, near Vancouver.
He said his wife Katharine discovered that the Duke and Duchess were in need of a discreet spot for their first Christmas holiday with a then-seven-month-old Archie and Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland, and he was happy to oblige.
‘I felt honoured that I was able to help Meghan there because I’m a Canadian and we’re a commonwealth country. It’s important to us, so I grew up with that kind of sentiment,’ David said to DailyMail.com.
‘I was really happy to be able to help them to find a respite just to take a little time off,’ he added.
‘I know that it was reinvigorating for them to spend some downtime. This is a great testament to my hometown of Victoria that they were able to go under the radar for so long.
‘I was just happy through my friend to facilitate what I could for them, and it looked like they had a great rest. They’re a young modern family. I’m sure they want to balance their commitment to the crown and be a 2020 family.’
He added that he did not know if the couple were paying rent, saying that he simply helped them make the connection with a close friend, who owns the property.
Katharine attended the same Catholic school as Meghan. The Duchess of SusđâŻđ was already at high school by the time Katharine was at the Los Angeles middle school.
‘She went to a school called Immaculate Heart, as did I. She went there for middle school and high school, and I went there just for middle school,’ Katharine explained.
‘I did a couple of shows with her and she was always put together and great,’ Katharine recalled. ‘I was never really close friends with her.’
She said that while she was performing in Waitress the musical in London, she and her husband David got to speak with Harry and Meghan.
In 2019, Katharine posted an Instagram snap featuring the Duchess from their school days.
‘Meghan and I did musicals together as kids,’ Katharine wrote. ‘She grew up to be the Duchess of SusđâŻđ and I grew up to star on the West End, so same life if you ask me.’
In 2022, it was reported that David had planned to throw the Duke a fun-filled party in celebration of his first Los Angeles-based birthday upon Harry turning 36.
The Mirror claimed that the party was set to be held at David’s Los Angeles home, with a source telling the publication that it was going to be a low-key and intimate celebration.
‘David wants to make it special for Harry but also keep it casual and low-key with some fine wine, great food and intimate company,’ the source claimed.
‘He is setting aside the fire pit at his home plus the whole outdoor area, which security will cordon off.’
Meanwhile, in October 2020, it was reported that Harry and Meghan planned on spending Christmas in the US with the Duke’s ‘surrogate’ father David, a source claimed.
The couple were apparently hosting their own Christmas soirĂŠe in Los Angeles and planned on inviting his ‘surrogate’ dad, The Mirror reported.
‘Meghan very much wants to host the first Christmas at their new home with her mum,’ a source close to the couple claimed.
‘She’s really excited and is planning on doing all the traditions she grew up with as a child, including the cooking.’
According to the source, David and Katherine offered to host the festivities at their home, however, Meghan volunteered that she and Harry host at theirs.
SECOND MOTHER DORIA RAGLAND
Prince Harry is fortunate to have formed a close relationship with Meghan’s mother – 68-year-old Doria Ragland.
In 2020, when Harry transitioned from his position as a senior working royal, he was said to rely on Doria for advice and support in Princess Diana’s absence.
A royal source revealed that the Duke of SusđâŻđ has grown incredibly close to Doria, who has been a ‘tower of strength’ for the couple over the past few years.
The source told The Sun: ‘Harry obviously doesn’t have a mum whom he can turn to for advice, but he has always been incredibly close to Doria and never more so than now.’
The couple are said to have been in constant touch with the LA-based yoga teacher, who advised them on their decision to leave their roles as working royals.
The source said Prince Harry has a huge amount of respect for Doria and her judgement, so she has been kept constantly in the loop about their plans to quit.
They also revealed that while Doria supports the couple wholeheartedly, she told them to be mindful about their choices because it’s likely that there’s no going back.
Prince Harry and Doria also reportedly bonded over their shared priority of wanting Meghan to be happy, making their relationship stronger than ever.
In June 2020, it was reported that Doria, a former social worker, acted as an ‘unofficial nanny’ to then-one-year-old grandson Archie to help the couple out as they found their feet in the United States.
The source told the Sun: ‘Doria has her own quarters and whilst a few of Harry’s chums have been ribbing him about living with his mother-in-law, he has a brilliant relationship with her.’
Elsewhere, Doria has spoken out about her close bond to Prince Harry, claiming that she instantly knew that he was ‘the one’ for her daughter because of his good manners, red hair, and handsome looks.
Appearing in the couple’s new bombshell Netflix series, she said: ‘He was this 6’1 handsome man with red hair, [he had] great manners. He was just really nice. They look really happy together. He was The One.’
‘FAIRY GODMOTHER’ OPRAH WINFREY
Prince Harry dubbed Oprah Winfrey one of his ‘fairy godmothers’ at a book store opening earlier this month.
The SusđâŻđes enjoyed an evening with ‘friends and family’ of literary agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh and cosmetics star Victoria Jackson on September 6, Town and Country Magazine revealed – where they embraced old friend Oprah.
Photos from the event show a grinning and glamorous Duchess hugging the talkshow host that interviewed them for their bombshell 2021 broadcast.
Victoria, who has been close to the royal couple since their arrival in California four years ago, said that ‘seeing them be able to come here and be in a safe space… it’s what we want it to be.’
She added: ‘Their support, and the light that it will shine on Godmothers, is pretty extraordinary.’
The outlet also revealed that Prince Harry played a part in curating the bookshop’s name as he had at his own book party in Beverley Hills, and thanked Oprah, Victoria and Jennifer for being his ‘fairy godmothers’.
Harry and Meghan’s friendship with the star appears to have been sparked when they extended their wedding invitation to Oprah to include the evening reception at Frogmore House, attended only by their closest relatives and pals.
The chat show host had been invited to the ceremony at St George’s Chapel, inside Windsor Castle, despite only having apparently met Meghan face-to-face once. It is not thought she had ever met Harry in person.
All 800 guests were invited to enjoy a ‘wedding breakfast’ in the Great Hall of Windsor Castle after the ceremony, but only 200 guests were invited to a sit-down dinner in the grounds of Frogmore House that evening.
It is thought that Meghan and Oprah were introduced through the American network CBS and met when Oprah found herself in London.
The presenter said she previously asked for an interview with Meghan, but her request was declined with the Duchess apparently telling her it was ‘not the right time’.
‘I remember that conversation,’ Meghan told Oprah in her and Harry’s bombshell interview later. ‘I wasn’t even allowed to have that conversation with you personally. There had to be people sitting there.’
Oprah, who is now understood to count the couple as neighbours in Montecito, had maintained warm relationships with the couple after attending their nuptials.
As reported by ABC, Oprah had even gifted little Archie, now five, a library of books when he was born.
It is a ‘standard gift’ that the talkshow host gives ‘people that she really cares about’, according to an interview with Access Hollywood.
‘I don’t know the đđđđ˘’s name or the đđđđ˘’s gender, but this đđđđ˘ will have enough books to last a lifetime!’ she added.
This month, Meghan spoke at Oprah‘s book club session in California, with the Duchess forming one of several ‘light-filled’ speakers who addressed the crowd at Goodmothers bookstore and gathering space in Summerland, located just miles from where she lives in Montecito.
Godmothers, co-owned by literary agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, just celebrated its grand opening weekend by hosting a slew of events and ‘conversations’ with celebrities and authors.
The bookstore appears to be promoting several popular celebrity books including Meghan’s children’s book The Bench and Prince Harry‘s memoir, which can be found front-and-centre in the shop, on its ‘hometown heroes’ shelf.
Meghan appeared at the event, on the eve of the second anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
While it is unclear what the Duchess said in her address, the crowd appeared to be eating it up with Jackson branding Meghan as one of the evening’s ‘light-filled speakers’.
Godmothers is seemingly proud of Meghan and Harry, whom the owner has hailed as a ‘hometown hero’.
Walsh, in a video promoting the store, has put Harry’s memoir on display with a collection of books penned by local writers.
Meghan’s book The Bench, a picture book for children published in 2021, is also on the shelf.
‘This is our local authors shelf when you first walk in,’ she said of the display. ‘I want it to be when you first walk in so that authors who are local to the area know that this is their hometown bookstore.
‘And we celebrate our hometown authors as if they were our hometown heroes, because to us they are.’
