The Duchess of Sussex has flown Stateside to support one of her closest friends, Serena Williams, who is competing in the final of the US Open. According to The Times, Meghan made the last-minute decision to fly to New York for the weekend. She boarded a commercial flight on Friday morning, leaving her husband Prince Harry and their baby boy Archie at home in Windsor. Meghan is understood to have travelled alone, without her staff, but she was accompanied by her security team.
The report went on to say that Meghan had stayed up until 1am on Thursday night to watch Serena compete in the semi-final, in which the tennis champion beat Elina Svitolina in two sets. Meghan had been considering a trip to New York to support her friend ever since Serena won the quarter-final earlier in the week. The tennis star is competing in the final on Saturday.
Meghan is close friends with tennis champion Serena Williams
The Duchess' last-minute trip will explain why she and Prince Harry have decided not to visit the Queen at Balmoral this weekend. The Sussexes were expected to travel to Scotland for Archie's first stay at the Queen's official summer residence, but earlier this week, it was reported that their plans had changed. Harry and Meghan see the Queen regularly when she is based at Windsor Castle, given that they live just a stone's throw away at Frogmore Cottage.
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Meghan is travelling without Harry and four-month-old baby Archie
Meghan has only made a handful of appearances during her maternity leave, most notably joining the Cambridge family for a polo day out in July. She also celebrated the Queen's birthday at Trooping the Colour in June. She and Harry are gearing up for their first long-haul royal tour with baby Archie as they are visiting southern Africa at the end of September.
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The Duchess will officially go back to work next Thursday when she visits Smart Works charity to launch the special capsule she announced in Vogue last month. Her workwear collection includes a shirt, trousers, blazer, dress and bag and will be stocked at Marks & Spencer, John Lewis and Jigsaw. For every item bought during the sale of the collection, which will last for at least two weeks, one will be donated to Smart Works – allowing customers to help empower and support other women and play a part in their success story.
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