Meghan Markle shows off calligraphy skills in trailer for new Netflix show- 20 years after writing invitations for celebrity weddings to make ends meet as a jobbing actress

Meghan Markle showed off her impressive calligraphy skills in the trailer for her new Netflix cooking show.

The Duchess of Sussex, 43, is seen writing labels for homemade candles — possibly for her lifestyle brand American Riviera Orchard — in a teaser clip for her eight-episode series “With Love, Meghan.”

The trailer, which was shared to Meghan’s new Instagram account yesterday, shows the royal teaching her friend and make-up artist Daniel Martin how to write calligraphy labels.

We see him carefully putting the label on a candle and Meghan says, “This is about connecting with friends, I love how we’re doing it together for the first time.”

Daniel is said to have known Meghan for more than a decade, having met her while the former actress was working on Suits.

However, this isn’t the first time Meghan has shared her calligraphy skills. She taught calligraphy, gift wrapping and bookbinding at the Paper Source store in Beverly Hills from 2004 to 2005, when she was trying to make ends meet as an actress.

In addition to her job at Paper Source, she also worked as a freelance calligrapher, where she wrote the invitations for the wedding of celebrities Robin Thicke and Paula Patton in 2005.

And it appears to have led to an increase in calligraphy set sales, as evidenced by a 2018 trends report from Hobbycraft detailing an increase in interest in calligraphy sets, up 40 percent from 2017.

Hobbycraft noted that sales peaked during the summer period, in line with the Royal Wedding on May 19, 2018.

Client director Katherine Paterson said: ‘Putting pen to paper is becoming increasingly popular and there is no doubt that the Duchess of Sussex has helped to promote calligraphy writing. Our calligraphy range continues to sell well and we expect this will only continue.”

Winnie Park, CEO of Paper Source in the US, previously spoke about Meghan’s calligraphy sessions.

She told PEOPLE: “She was teaching calligraphy and hosted a group of clients and instructed them in a two-hour class on calligraphy.

“She is said to have advised clients on projects – from wedding invitations to creating personalized stationery to wrapping gifts,” she adds. ‘She has said she is a big fan of custom stationery and thinks it is the best gift to give to 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 father wrote me a letter that I still have. The idea that someone takes the time to put pen to paper is very special.’

Daniel is a New York-based makeup artist who started his career as an independent makeup artist in 2004.

Their relationship began when Meghan didn’t have a publicist, so she personally contacted 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 said, ‘Oh my God, this is what I always wanted, but I didn’t know how to get there,'” he shared the publication.

The pair then kept in touch and while working on her former blog The Tig, Meghan asked Daniel to lend her a helping hand.

He has stayed in touch 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 for Meghan’s return on social media earlier this week, declaring “my sister is back.”

On Wednesday, Meghan shared an elusive clip of herself running on the beach – the first post shared on her brand new social media account @meghan.

In the video, shared with 112,000 followers and which has quickly risen to one million, Prince Harry’s wife runs towards the shoreline of a beach in an all-white ensemble.

As she reaches the ocean, she draws the numbers of the new year – 2025 – in the sand, perhaps hinting at the changes that will take place in the coming months.

It is believed the clip was shot by Prince Harry near their home in Montecito, California.

Her boyfriend Daniel Martin greeted Meghan’s return on social media, sharing the clip to his own Instagram and writing: “My sister is back!”

He added, “Look at this space….”

Fans got a glimpse of Meghan’s writing in 2019, when author Matt Haig shared a thank-you note he received from her after she published his poem in her guest-edited Vogue issue.

The Duchess revealed her impeccable handwriting in a thank you letter to an author, praising his book ‘A Note from the Beach’ as ​​a ‘household favourite’.

Matt posted a photo of the Duchess’ letter, written in calligraphy on a monogrammed ‘M’ card, and admitted he “wished he could tell my young, hopeless, suicidal self about all this magic he had to live for to stay.’

In the September 2019 issue of British Vogue, Meghan praised his poem, an ode to a beach that tells swimmers not to be body conscious.

In the note, written on letterhead paper, the Duchess said: ‘Dear Matt, since I read ‘Notes on a Nervous Planet’ last autumn it became an instant household favourite.

‘When I knew I was going to be guest editor of the September issue of British Vogue, I knew you had to be part of it.

“Thank you for being a force for change. The world needs more of you!’

He shared his joy at receiving the note and said he can now “die happy.”

Matt said: ‘I came across some unusual mail at home, amongst all the bills and magazines.

‘An envelope from Kensington Palace.

“HR Duchess Meghan called me a ‘force for change’ and now I can die happy.

“This year has surpassed anything I could have imagined years ago, one rejection after another from publishers.

“I would love to go back in time and tell my young, hopeless, suicidal self about all this magic that requires them to stay alive.”

He joked about Meghan’s perfect writing style, adding: “Hang in there. (I’ve now signed up for handwriting classes.)”