Meghan Markle's makeup artist says 'diversity' at her royal wedding 'changed the world'

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will soon celebrate the third anniversary of their wedding, which was the first of its kind and apparently marked the entry of the first person of mixed-race heritage into the British royal family. The wedding was widely reported as being significant for diversity, a landmark for the people of colour and the royal family itself, and was also applauded for the inclusion of African American culture in the service.

Makeup artist Daniel Martin, the talent behind Meghan Markle's no-makeup makeup look and her long-term friend, recently opened up to People magazine about attending the royal wedding and said that the diversity at the event completely changed the world. Martin recalled that Meghan's significance in ushering the royal family to a new era was also acknowledged in a passionate speech by Chicago-based Bishop Michael Curry.

When asked if doing Meghan's makeup at her wedding impacted his career or provided him a platform to represent the AAPI (Asian American and Pacific Islander) community, Martin said: "My participation in it as an Asian American, I didn't really think about it."

"For me, it was just helping my friend feel as beautiful and comfortable on her wedding day. I've never thought about it in that context, but now you bring that up, what an incredible opportunity to just let everyone know or just show people, Hey, we are a global society. Anything is possible," he explained.

At the ceremony held at St. George's Chapel on May 19, 2018, Martin was seated near the lively Kingdom Choir, a gospel group led by Karen Gibson who sang Ben E. King's classic "Stand By Me" in what was described as "an incredible and powerful moment" as the couple were sitting down. Recalling the special moment, the makeup artist said: "When they started singing, it literally resonated through our bodies. I remember sitting there and taking it in."

"Wow, what an incredible opportunity to have such diversity in this particular church," he said, noting that this type of music or voice had never been sung in that church before.

"The centuries of the family, the centuries of people who started in that church or who had services in that church were predominantly Caucasian. And then, here's this one moment where this harmony of humanity happened — that completely changed the world at that moment," he explained.

Martin said he did not realise the diversity at that moment, but after being asked about it, he thought about the other Asian people who were present at the wedding. "I literally only saw one other person and she worked for the palace. And Priyanka [Chopra] and Janina [Gavankar] in terms of Asian women, but I don't remember seeing another Asian male," he recalled.

Martin is still in touch with the Duchess of Sussex, who is expecting her second child, a daughter, with husband Prince Harry. Asked how he feels about Meghan Markle's makeup artist possibly becoming his identity for the rest of his career, he said: "Meghan and I, we talk about this all the time. I'm always going to be Meghan Markle's makeup artist for the rest of my life. Which is totally fine because we're friends."

"I'm just really fortunate that I was part of that celebration of my friend's wedding," he added.