Cape Town student Mignon O'Flaherty is still pinching herself after meeting the Duchess of Sussex. The 22-year-old Varsity College student is the ultimate royals fan.
In fact, she even goes as far as admitting she's Harry and Meghan's biggest SA fan. "I started becoming a major fan when I was 12. When Catherine and William got engaged, I started following them. And then when I saw that Harry was dating Meghan, I knew from the beginning they were meant to be," said O'Flaherty.
She says she started plotting her plan of action as soon as Harry and Meghan announced they would be travelling to Africa after the birth of Archie. "I knew that I wanted to meet them. It's always been a dream of mine."
'When I met her, I went completely ballistic. I don't know how I actually held it all together.' Picture: Instagram
O'Flaherty is quick to add she's not just a fan. She credits Meghan'ss charity work as the inspiration for going into philanthropy in the future. " I feel like I was destined to meet her," she added.
She finally got her moment when Meghan visited the Woodstock Exchange on her first solo SA engagement on Wednesday. "When I saw that she was at the Woodstock Exchange, I went there immediately. And then basically, I waited on the corner to get a glimpse of her, which I did."
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A post shared by Mignon O'Flaherty(@mignon_oflaherty) on Sep 25, 2019 at 8:11am PDT
But what O'Flaherty wanted was to meet Meghan. She then went to her next engagement at Mothers2Mothers and spoke to security and asked for permission to stand close by.
O'Flaherty also added she had spent hours working on an art piece dedicated to Meghan, Harry and Archie, which she wanted to present to the duchess. "Before I knew it, I was standing there with three others, and I was totally overwhelmed.
"Within minutes I was talking to her, and it was incredible. She was walking past, and turned around when she heard me. I greeted her like a long lost friend. I literally said 'Megs!' I didn't even say 'your highness'. 'My name is Mignon, and i made this artwork for you'."
"When I met her, I went completely ballistic. I don't know how I actually held it all together.
"She could see that I was highly emotional and my voice was cracking."
That's when Meghan gave O'Flaherty a hug, thanked her for the artwork and said: "Thank you Mignon, that's so sweet of you."
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A post shared by Mignon O'Flaherty(@mignon_oflaherty) on Sep 25, 2019 at 7:31am PDT
During the three-minute conversation, O'Flaherty says Meghan was humble and completely down to earth. "I can honestly say that those three minutes were definitely one of the highlights of my life, honestly," said a still emotional O'Flaherty.
Since describing the meeting on social media, O'Flaherty's become a mini celebrity, with many users commenting on her experience.