Meghan & Harry's Roman Holiday

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan jet-set to Italy to watch their close friend Misha Nonoo get married

- Elizabeth Wallace

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will go the distance for their friends! Before embarking on a multicountry humanitarian trip to Africa on Sept. 23, the couple made a pit stop in Rome to celebrate the nuptials of one of Meghan’s closest friends, fashion designer Misha Nonoo.

Nonoo wed Michael Hess (heir to the Hess Oil and Chemical Corporation fortune) on Friday, Sept. 20, at Villa Aurelia, and even though it meant leaving behind baby Archie, 4 months, Meghan and Harry couldn’t possibly miss the star-studded event: After all, it’s Nonoo who reportedly first introduced them! (Other celebrity guests included Katy Perry and Orlando Bloom, Karlie Kloss and Joshua Kushner, Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner, Harry’s cousin Princess Eugenie, James Corden, Diplo and Gayle King.)

Although it was a quick two-day trip for the royals — the couple departed Italy the next day on a commercial flight, as they’ve recently been criticized for taking private jets — the pair seemed to enjoy their time away and were all smiles for the newlyweds. “Seeing her best friend get married is one of the highlights of Meghan’s year so far, apart from having Archie, of course,” a source tells Us. A second source reports that the duchess also read a scripture during the ceremony.

Beyond that, Meghan was off the hook from any other maid-of honour-type duties, as Nonoo didn’t have a bridal party, shares the second source. Meghan was totally supportive of the nontraditional bride’s decision: If she were standing beside her best friend, “all eyes would’ve been on her instead of Misha, and she didn’t want that to happen.”