Harry and Meghan take New York
Why the Big Apple is a favourite destination of the Royal Family
It was great to see Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex in New York this week. On their first major appearance together since moving to the USA in early 2020, they visited the One World Observatory in Manhattan and met with UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield about vaccine equity and mental health issues.
On Friday they visited a school in Harlem, where Meghan read her book The Bench, followed by a chicken dinner at Melba’s, where they gave a $25,000 donation. On Saturday, they had a meeting with the UN Secretary-General ahead of the Global Citizen Live event in Central Park, promoting global vaccine equity.
The Sussexes flew solo, leaving baby Lilibet and Archie at home for their working mini-break, but they also made the most of their time away, spotted in Bemelmans Bar in The Carlyle hotel near Central Park. Known as The White House of New York, it’s a favourite of presidents and JFK had an apartment there. On Wednesday, Harry and Meghan had drinks and dinner with friends Misha Nonoo and Mikey Heiss and the following evening, Harry was back in the bar, having a catch-up without Meghan.
Meghan looked all business on her New York trip with her hair slicked back in a ponytail, opting for a suite of coat suits, including a navy Armani ensemble and two camel MaxMara coats as well as a red £4500 Loro Piana cashmere coat and matching £1800 trousers. She finally took her coats off to reveal a white Valentino dress.
The couple is following in family footsteps – Prince Charles stayed at The Carlyle and it was a favourite hotel of Diana, Princess of Wales. According to Piers Morgan, on one visit Diana got in a lift with Steve Jobs and Michael Jackson and broke the silence by singing Beat It. Diana adored New York – she had a triumphant solo tour there in 1989 and chose the city for her dress auction in 1997, shortly before she died. Diana clearly passed her preference down to her sons – Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, stayed in The Carlyle during their 2014 royal tour, too.
For anyone fancying their own city break, rooms start around $1250 per night, up to, gulp, $9000 for the Presidential Suite.
Queens of the court meet their match
It’s no secret Catherine’s not only a big tennis fan, but also pretty nifty with her racket too. So, when the duchess met US Open champion Emma Raducanu on Friday during a homecoming celebration, of course she was bound to turn up fully kitted out and ready for game, set and match.
This action-packed meet and greet took place at London’s National Tennis Centre, where Catherine, as patron of the Lawn Tennis Association, met Emma and her fellow US Open winners - men’s doubles and mixed doubles champion Joe Salisbury and men’s wheelchair champions Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid. They all posed together for a snap which Catherine posted on Twitter captioned, “In the presence of champions... We are all so proud of you!”
The beaming duchess, with her own racket in hand, then paired up with the champs for a game of doubles and later went head-to-head with Emma for a quick singles game. Watch it here. Emma said, “Her forehand was incredible. I was very impressed. It was a lot of fun to play tennis with the duchess.”
A sentiment echoed by LTA’s Sam Richardson, who summed up Catherine’s on-court skills, “I think she was perhaps a bit nervous, as anyone would be coming on against four Grand Slam champions,” he said. “But she held her own, she was brilliant.” Definitely love all to the Queen of Flushing Meadow and a future Queen.
The royals blooming day out
It was quite a family day out at this year’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show. The Princess Royal (and husband Tim) were joined by Edward and Sophie Wessex, Princess Alexandra, Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester for a special preview on Monday.
Among the gardens visited by the royals at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, was the Queen’s Green Canopy Garden which seeks to ‘highlight the importance of trees and woodlands to the environment’. Earlier in the day, Dame Judi Dench officially opened the garden in her role as a QGC ambassador, supporting the initiative to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee by getting everyone to ‘Plant a Tree for the Jubilee’.
Every year, the floral displays and garden design make our green fingers itch with joy, but we also couldn’t help notice a couple of sartorial royal flourishes. We loved the Countess of Wessex in a Victoria Beckham design and Prince Edward’s tie decorated with vegetables and gardening tools was a lovely playful touch.
The world’s most popular flower show is always held every May, but due to the pandemic the event was scheduled for this autumn, the first time in its 108-year history. The Queen, patron of the Royal Horticultural Society, and normally a regular guest, missed this year’s six-day event (which closed today) as she’s still at Balmoral.
Princess Beatrice baby’s secret name
Congrats to Beatrice and husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi who welcomed a baby daughter last Saturday at London’s Chelsea And Westminster Hospital. The Queen’s 12th great-grandchild was born at 11.42pm weighing six pounds, two ounces, and while she won’t be a princess like her mum, she will have a title thanks to Daddy’s Italian aristocratic heritage.
Although currently 11th in line to the British throne, the baby will inherit the title of Donna Nobile (which means noblewoman), via her paternal grandad, Count Alessandro Mapelli Mozzi. The family have been titled for centuries and although Italy is a republic, noble titles are still used as a courtesy. The newborn is Beatrice’s first child and Edo’s second – he shares five-year-old Christopher Woolf with Dara Huang. Whatever name she is finally given, we bet she’s one bella bambina!
Fed-up Bertie fights back
One of our favourite royal stories this week was the emergence of letters between Prince Albert and Queen Victoria. Made public for the first time through RCT, they were penned by a fed-up Albert, chastising his wife for nagging him.
Written between 1855 and 1861, Albert moans about Victoria following him from room to room continuing the row. “You have again lost your self-control quite unnecessarily. I did not say a word which could wound you and I did not begin the conversation, but you have followed me about and continued it from room to room,” he writes. “I do my duty towards you even though it means that life is embittered by ‘scenes’, when it should be governed by love and harmony.” Dream on, Bertie boy.
In another letter he says his wife isn’t very maternal. “It is indeed a pity that you find no consolation in the company of your children. It is not possible to be on happy, friendly terms with people you have just been scolding.”
Finally, he advises her to stop being so self-centred. “If you were rather less occupied with yourself (if that is possible) and your feelings (if that is possible) and took more interest in the outside world you would find that the greatest help of all.”