Canadian author of the novel ‘bought by Harry and Meghan for £3 million for a Netflix adaptation’ is a fan of the Sussexes and was left in tears as she saw their wedding on TV (after waking up at 4am to watch it)

The author of the novel bought by Harry and Meghan for an estimated £3million is a fan of the Sussexes and was left in tears watching their wedding in 2018.

Carley Fortune, a Canadian writer and journalist based in Toronto, woke up at 4am to watch the royal wedding at St George’s Chapel in Windsor as the Sussexes tied the knot in a ceremony broadcast to millions around the world.

After seeing the duchess in her wedding gown designed by Clare Waight Keller, she tweeted: ‘Meghan Markle is pulling up to the chapel and I am feeling very teary! Maybe it’s the 4am start.’

The duke and duchess have reportedly bought the rights to Fortune’s second novel Meet Me At The Lake – a romance about two people who meet by chance at two different stages of their lives – to produce a televised adaptation for Netflix.

The novel, which is set in the lakes of Ontario and the city of Toronto, is said to have captured the Sussexes’ imaginations – perhaps due to Meghan’s connection to the Canadian city, which is where she lived when she was filming Suits. 

An insider told the Sun: ‘The themes of the book gripped the couple and it was chosen for their first adaptation with Netflix.’

The project comes after the couple lost their reported £18million deal with Spotify after one series of Meghan’s podcast Archetypes. 

Although Fortune has not yet commented on the reported deal, she will likely be pleased to have handed over the rights to the duke and duchess.

The author and mother-of-two has revealed she is a fan of Suits, and previously shared on Twitter that she was binge-watching the legal drama, which was Meghan’s big break in the entertainment industry.

On Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding day, Carley revealed she’d woken up at 4am to watch the ceremony on TV and said it had left her ‘teary’

Meet Me At The Lake is the New York Times bestselling author’s second novel, about two people who fall in love after a chance encounter several years after they first met

Shorty before Harry and Meghan tied the knot, Fortune tweeted: ‘I’m binging my way through Suits. I felt a bit sheepish about it at first but I’ve decided to own my fandom. SUITS ROCKS, YOU GUYS! (I think that Meghan Markle is going places).’

Some PR experts have questioned why the novel, which is the second project from the New York Times bestselling author, has been sold to the Sussexes when it could have gone to more experienced producers. However Fortune’s apparent fondness for the couple may explain the decision.

Despite knowing that royal life was not ‘a world they wanted for their family’, as a friend has claimed, Harry and Meghan have faced some hard realities since they left to bring up their children away from the limelight of the Firm. 

Having signed major multi-million pound deals with giants Netflix and Spotify, as well as Harry’s own book deal, they have since faced hurdles including the loss of the Spotify partnership.

Meghan hosted a series of her Archetype podcast on the platform, but it has not been renewed by the streaming service and the couple announced in June they had ‘mutually’ agreed to part ways. They have also struggled to break into Hollywood, despite Meghan’s background as an actress in Suits.

Although their docuseries Harry and Meghan was watched extensively all over the world, experts say their brand is a tricky one to sell, due to the drama surrounding them raising clients’ expectations.

But Harry is currently working on a series based around the Invictus Games, which he set up as an opportunity for ex-service people to compete in sports in a similar way to the Paralympics or Commonwealth games. Heart of Invictus is expected to be released on Netflix later this year.