Meghan Markle’s little known side hustle that helped her pay the bills revealed - and it’s nothing to do with acting

Meghan Markle had a little known side hustle that used to help pay her bills when she was between acting jobs and it screams school nostalgia.

Before marrying Prince Harry, like most people, Meghan Markle struggled to pay the bills and once relied upon a second job to survive.

But while the Duchess of Sussex doesn't need to worry too much these days about the cost of living, since she and Harry stepped back as senior working members of the royal family, she proved that it's possible to make a living from a skill that she had honed in school.

While it's no secret that Meghan Markle used to be an actress, starring in Suits - a US legal drama TV show, not many know that aside from acting, she is also a trained calligrapher who learnt the art form of writing at school and even taught lessons at Paper Source in Beverly Hills.

And if you're looking to do easy crafts for kids, you might discover your child has a hidden handwriting talent.

Paper Source CEO Winnie Park told People, "She taught calligraphy and hosted a group of customers and instructed them during a two-hour class on how to do calligraphy.”

In an unearthed interview with Esquire in 2013, Meghan explained where her hidden talent came from. She said, “It was because I went to an all-girls Catholic school for like six years during the time when kids actually had handwriting class. I’ve always had a propensity for getting the cursive down pretty well."

Cursive is the act of writing in a joined up manner with rounded letters, and often makes writing faster than individual block letters.

"What it evolved into was my pseudo-waitressing job when I was auditioning. I didn't wait tables. I did calligraphy for the invitations for, like, Robin Thicke and Paula Patton's wedding."

Meghan continued, "I used to do it for Dolce & Gabbana's celebrity correspondence over the holidays. I would sit there with a little white tube sock on my hand so no hand oils got on the card, trying to pay my bills while auditioning."

Meghan claimed her success was down to "no one seeming to appreciate a handwritten note anymore" that she can "try to keep that alive".

She added, "It's super-lucrative. Because there are so few people doing it. What's funny is I probably still have some calligraphy business cards floating out in the world and I can't wait for someone to call me in a month or something, and say, "Can you do these for my son's Bar Mitzvah?"

She also gave some tips for anyone wanting to make a better handwritten note;

1. Take your time
2. Just do fluid strokes, you don't have to have a fancy pen by any means
3. You have to write in a way that's authentic to you, so just take a little bit more time and try to make the letters more fluid

Meghan has also talked about her love of handwritten notes on her former blog The Tig, She admitted, "I think handwritten notes are a lost art form. When I booked my first [TV] pilot, my dad wrote me a letter that I still have. The idea of someone taking the time to put pen to paper is really special.”

In other royal news, Kate Middleton reveals Princess Charlotte has nailed this tricky skill - and she used to be able to do it too and Princess Beatrice wants to have another child ‘soon’ for this relatable reason that every parent will understand