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Royal aides don’t have much good to say about Meghan Markle’s lavish baby shower before the birth of her son, Archie.
Omid Scobie, the author of Finding Freedom, about Prince Harry and Meghan’s departure from royal life, recalls speaking to palace insiders at the time and how they “rolled their eyes” at the shower.
“They were horrified that something so common was happening within the House of Windsor,” he says. “Baby showers are as far from British tradition as you can get.”
The author was also interviewed in a new documentary, A Very Royal Baby: From Cradle to Crown.
“We had never seen someone throw this very lavish
affair to celebrate the impending arrival of a baby,” he said.
Meghan jetted off to New York in February 2019 for a five-day celebration for the coming birth of her and Prince Harry’s firstborn.
The festivities took place at the exclusive The Mark hotel in Manhattan and was attended by 20 of her closest friends, including Serena Williams and Amal Clooney. Her mom, Doria Ragland, and sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, didn’t attend the celebration.
Guests were seen leaving the hotel’s grand penthouse suite, which costs $75 000 (R1,05 million) a night.
Ingrid Seward, royal author and editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, calls the shower “trashy”.
“They walked in through the front
entrance carrying these enormous bags from the most expensive shops in New York,”
Seward says.
According to Omid, senior courtiers felt the same way. “They were spitting out their morning tea when they saw her lavish baby shower turn into a media circus, with what looked like carefully stage-managed paparazzi walks of the duchess in big black sunglasses from her hotel to her car and a laundry list of insider party details reported by US press.”
A senior aide said at the time the “optics” of the “somewhat flashy shower” didn’t go down well with certain individuals at the palace.
“Meghan was often criticised for being ‘too Hollywood’, especially for the reserved aesthetic of the monarchy.”
Patrick Jephson, Princess Diana’s long-time private secretary,
says the $500 000 (R7million) baby shower was “a clear sign Meghan thinks that
being a royal duchess is about celebrity, not royalty”.
Harry and Meghan are expecting their second child, a daughter, this year, but have reportedly decided to not have a baby shower.
“Meghan doesn’t feel a big baby shower with gifts is appropriate right now,” a source told US Weekly.
“There’s too much strife in the world. She and Harry have been so involved with humanitarian issues, they both feel their time and resources can be used for a better purpose.”
Sources: Mail Online, Page Six, US Weekly
