Meghan Markle joined at her Canadian hideaway by 'little blonde guru' Pilates instructor

Meghan Markle drove to the airport in Vancouver to pick up her friend, Heather Dorak - Insatgram
Meghan Markle drove to the airport in Vancouver to pick up her friend, Heather Dorak - Insatgram

The Duchess of Sussex has been joined at her Canadian hideaway by a Pilates instructor and entrepreneur who she once described as a "little blonde guru".

Heather Dorak was seen arriving at Victoria Airport on Thursday afternoon close to the $14m house where the Duchess has been staying since she returned to Canada last week.

The Duchess drove herself to the airport to pick up her friend in a black Land Rover Discovery, accompanied by a member of her security staff.

Ms Dorak, a fitness entrepreneur who owns Pilates Platinum in LA, is a long-time friend who attended the Duchess's wedding and baby shower and also joined her on a trip to Spain in 2017.

She now lives in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband, fintech entrepreneur Matt Cohen, and two children.

Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex with Pilates guru Heather Dorak - Credit: Social Media
Heather Dorak attended the wedding of Meghan and Prince Harry, sitting in the front row Credit: Social Media

She also wrote for Meghan's now-defunct blog The Tig. In a 2014 post the Duchess wrote that she had an "inner calm, a quiet confidence, an aura of stillness, so much so that I swear sometimes it’s like sitting with a little blonde guru. She may as well levitate."

The Duchess is a Pilates and yoga enthusiast, practicing during her pregnancy. During the tour of Australia she talked about the benefits of yoga, saying it was good for "healing your mind".

This was the second time the Duchess had been seen out and about since the announcement that she and Prince Harry would be "stepping back" from the Royal Family.

Earlier this week she was pictured getting on a seaplane to travel to Vancouver, where she visited two women's charities.

Who is Heather Dorak?

Meghan Markle and Heather Dorak's family - Credit: Instagram
Meghan has long been a friend of Heather Dorak Credit: Instagram

Heather Dorak, 37, is a former dancer turned pilates instructor and close confidane of the Duchess of Sussex.

When the Duchess was known as Meghan Markle, she became one of Ms Dorak’s first clients at Pilates Premium, the fitness studio she set up in Los Angeles.

On social media she has celebrated her long friendship with the Duchess, and posted a picture of the pair together.

At the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding she was seated on the front row, next to Carolyn Bartholomew, a schoolfriend and flatmate of Princess Diana.

Now based in San Antonio, Texas, with her husband Matt Cohen, Miss Dorak’s pilates business spans six studios across Los Angeles and Texas.

When the pair married in 2017 at L'Horizon Resort & Spa, Palm Springs, the wedding weekend included yoga lessons and massages.

The couple had a 1981 Porsche 911 Targa on their registry list along with the option for guests to donate money to Team Rubicon disaster relief.