Meghan Markle appears not to have attended her friend Serena Williams’s baby shower and gender reveal party last weekend, after she was nowhere to be seen in any videos from the event.
It is possible that the Duchess requested not to be filmed in order to keep her attendance concealed, as Serena posted videos and pictures from the celebration on her Instagram and YouTube pages.
The friendship between Meghan and Serena goes back as far as 2010 and the pair have remained close ever since, with the tennis legend and her husband Alexis Ohanian attending Meghan and Prince Harry’s wedding in 2018.
Serena also helped to organise Meghan’s own baby shower in 2019 when she was pregnant with Prince Archie, held in the swanky Mark Hotel in Manhattan.
Speaking to Business of Fashion, Serena shared: “Planning something like that takes a lot of effort. I’m a perfectionist, so I’m like, ‘Let’s make it perfect.'”
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At Serena’s own lavish celebration this weekend, complete with a balloon-filled marquee and a water park for the children in attendance, it was revealed that the tennis star’s second child would be a girl.
The new baby will be a little sister to her five-year-old daughter Olympia, who excitedly screamed “I’m so happy” when she found out the news.
Serena’s fans also shared their overjoyed reactions in the comments section, with one writing: “She’s re-creating little Serena and Venus. Love it for her. Their legacy continues. Congrats to the entire family.”
Since the publication of Harry’s memoir Spare in January this year Meghan has remained mostly out of the limelight as she focuses on raising her two young children in Montecito.
However she signed with top Hollywood talent agency William Morris Endeavour (WME) in April, coincidentally the same agency that represents Serena Williams.
A US-based PR expert told Daily Express US that the Sussexes now have the opportunity to focus on “mission-driven businesses” that have a “meaningful impact”.
Stephen Reiff, Founder and Managing Partner of Arvo PR & Executive Communications, said: “At best, they’ll work to evolve their perception from armchair critic to leaders who are actually in the game, working to build something with meaningful impact.”
He speculated that this could mean a greater focus on not-for-profit work such as the Invictus Games, Harry’s passion project, adding that they could also “launch a mission-driven business, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it focused on kids and/or parenting”.
Mr Reiff noted “not only is that a large and growing market, but it’s also very hard for others to critique”.
