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AFTER MARRYING into the royal family nine months ago, it was time for Meghan Markle to enjoy a break from her new life – with a blast from her old one. Last week, the Duchess of Sussex flew to New York on a private jet for a five-day break culminating with a baby shower to outdo any royal or A-list one before it. The event was organised by Serena Williams (who scouted some of the city’s top hotels in the weeks leading up to the event) and Amal Clooney (who paid for the private jet and travelled back to the UK with Meghan).
The duchess and friends celebrated the impending arrival of ‘ baby Sussex’ at the £58,000-a-night penthouse suite of The Mark hotel (Meghan had arrived in the city three days earlier). Their ‘room’ had five bedrooms, a ballroom and
views over Central Park, all of which Serena is believed to have paid for.
‘Meghan has been desperate to spend some quality time in the States – which is why she wanted her baby shower to be held in New York City,’ an insider told Grazia. ‘She was keen for a change of scenery but the resulting publicity may have raised some eyebrows in the Palace.’
The celebrations included a flowerarranging lesson, a harpist, a candy-floss machine and food by a Michelin-star chef. Grazia can reveal that the friends racked up a bill of almost $300 [£230] on basil margarita cocktails. The cost of the event is estimated at £400,000.
Many of her ‘Girl Squad’ were there, including former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer, said to be one of the five friends who, earlier this year, defended the duchess in an explosive, anonymous interview with People magazine. (It followed months of negative headlines driven by her father Thomas Markle.) Also present were fashion designer Misha Nonoo, Meghan’s wedding hairdresser Serge Normant, make-upartist Daniel Martin, her unofficial stylist Jessica Mulroney and two of her Northwestern University sorority sisters, Genevieve Hillis and Lindsay Jordan (the latter is also rumoured to be one of People magazine’s ‘Fab Five’).
According to an insider, the event had been months in the making, with Meghan involved in the details, even specifying that tulips, roses and peonies should be used for the flower-arranging.
‘It has obviously been a really tough time for her lately, and this felt like it was a little window back into her old life,’ said a second source. ‘Everyone was being incredibly supportive and saying how well she has handled everything.’
But the move didn’t go without controversy – last week, there were questions about the cost of the trip ( it was privately funded), as well as just how publicly it played out. Some read it as an act of defiance. After all, Meghan could have hired a house in the Hamptons, or a brownstone in NYC and we’d have never known. Instead, Serena chose one of the most expensive, flashiest hotels in the city. But, act of defiance or not, it was – by all accounts – a chance for Meghan to enjoy a taste of her former existence ahead of the birth.
‘Being in New York this week, she got a bit of her old life back,’ said a source. ‘It’s good for her to have a few days as she used to live. Meghan was enjoying the hotels, the Michelin-starred dinners, the flashbulbs. She knew she couldn’t do a celebration in the UK like that, as Harry viscerally hates the attention.’
Indeed, the trip confirmed Meghan won’t leave the celebrity trappings of her old life behind once her baby is born. As a source told Grazia, ‘Meghan needed a break. She loves New York, discovering new places, eating out and being a foodie.
‘For some friends, it was the first time they’d seen each other since they’d spoken out to People. Obviously there was a lot to discuss, but mostly it was upbeat, positive and joyous.’
A second, more low-key, baby shower is planned for next month at Meghan’s Cotswold home near Soho Farmhouse. It is believed that her mother Doria will attend this gathering, after she flies to the UK in time for Meghan’s due date.