If Meghan Markle attends Northwestern University’s homecoming festivities in October, you can thank alum David Balfany.

Balfany said he and his wife, Carolyn, waited more than two hours to meet the Duke and Duchess of Sussex Wednesday during their visit to Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. The Balfany family was in town as part of their European vacation, and David Balfany said he took the opportunity to invite Markle to Northwestern’s homecoming.

“She kind of chuckled and said, ‘Well, I’d love to, but I’m going to be a bit busy for a little while.’ And then she said, ‘I am a proud alumna.’ And then she just made her way down the line,” Balfany told the Tribune by phone.

“She’s very friendly. She would have probably stayed there and chatted for a little awhile, but there was some of her staff that were trying to keep them moving. They probably had another several hundred people down the line from us. Then behind her came Prince Harry, and he stopped and chatted for a little while too. They couldn’t have been nicer.”

Markle graduated from Northwestern in 2003. Balfany, who lives in the St. Louis area, has two degrees from Northwestern.

He said he didn’t tune in to see Markle wed Prince Harry on May 19 at Windsor Castle, but his wife is a big fan of the couple so he tagged along to the Dublin event.

“It made my wife happy, but it was kind of cool. Honestly, I’m not a star stalker or anything like that, but it was kind of neat to see royalty,” Balfany said.