Meghan Markle has spoken of her "heartbreak" following the death of a close friend, who first introduced her to an animal charity which she later became a patron of.
In the open letter the Duchess of Sussex, who will reportedly be attending Brooklyn Beckham's nuptials this weekend, spoke of her friendship with dog trainer and animal behaviouralist Oli Juste.
Oli had introduced 40 year old Meghan to the animal shelter Mayhew, which works globally to "improve the lives of cats and dogs".
In her letter Meghan, who became patron of the shelter in 2019, wrote: "We shared, amongst many things, a commitment to animal welfare, and a deep love of rescue dogs."
Mother of two Meghan continued: "In fact, it was Oli and his fiancé Rob who helped care for my rescue dog, Guy, when I had just moved to the UK, and he was recovering from a debilitating accident.
"They loved him as though he was their own."
The former actress said she had been left "heartbroken and reflective" following Oli's passing. Meghan added that Rob's legacy to dogs is to "just love them. Especially those left behind of forgotten".
Howard Bridges, the CEO of Mayhew, confirmed that Meghan made a donation to the charity in memory of her "much-loved friend".
Oli passed away on January 15 this year, with his fiancé Rob confirming the devastating news on Instagram.
"It's with great sadness that Oli passed away on Saturday (15/01/22) with me his fiancé Rob, sister Helene, brother Michel and my mother Jenny by his side. He had been surrounded by friends and the incredible NHS staff at St.Richards Hospital ITU, Chichester," he wrote.
Rob added: "Oli was and remains an inspiration and thought changer within the worlds of both dogs and humans, and his special connection with animals was evident.
"Even though I find it hard to fathom what has happened, I take solace in the fact that, up to his last breath and beyond, Oli was and is helping people by being an organ donor, so there is the possibility of helping people beyond the end of his life."
Animal lovers Prince Harry and Meghan adopted the black Labrador in 2018, which they named Pula.
Meanwhile, Meghan is soon set to launch a podcast that will focus on female-specific subjects as well as how she raises her own daughter Lilibet, nine months, and women's labels.
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