Carolyn BESSETTE-KENNEDY

Marrying into a world-famous family can be a steep learning curve, as the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, is discovering. The constant scrutiny is relentless. It’s no surprise to learn that the Duchess is an ardent fan of a woman who walked a similarly difficult path two decades ago when she married into the Kennedy family – America’s most famous dynasty and its closest thing to royalty – and who was regularly likened to the late Princess Diana.

Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy was 30 when she married John F. Kennedy Jr., the adored son of assassinated President John F. Kennedy and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, in 1996. Their relationship was the stuff of fairytales: he was America’s most eligible bachelor, its “first son”, and she a beautiful, unknown, impeccably styled fashion PR executive who had seen off stiff competition – he’d previously dated Sarah Jessica Parker, Daryl Hannah and Madonna – to steal his heart.