Meghan Markle traveled to New York City to celebrate the upcoming arrival of her and Prince Harry’s first child with her friends, and had a baby shower fit for a princess!
The Duchess of Sussex’s royal baby shower was hosted by close pals Serena Williams and Amal Clooney, and brought out 20 of her closest friends, including former Suits costar Abigail Spencer, stylist Jessica Mulroney, hairstylist Serge Normant, makeup artist Daniel Martin, Misha Nonoo, Markus Anderson, Janina Gavankar, Lindsay Jill Roth and Gayle King, Popsugar reports.
Meghan’s friends, though, certainly did not hold back from planning the most lavish baby shower for the royal mom-to-be. The party was reportedly held in the penthouse suite of the Mark Hotel on the Upper East Side in New York City, according to PEOPLE. The two-story penthouse, which is actually the largest hotel penthouse suite in the U.S. at over 10,000 square feet, costs around $75,000 per night. But Williams, Markle’s BFF, is said to have foot the bill after scouting out the perfect location.
Williams is said to have brought on her wedding planner, Jennifer Zabinski of JZ Events, to help bring together this memorable event.
The tennis star also had Markle’s “favorite foods, flowers, and music” on hand, and “everything was so thoughtful and tastefully done.” Now if that isn’t friend goals, I don’t know what is.
A large cotton candy machine was pictured being wheeled into the hotel, and there were even adorable cookies, which Martin happened to snap a picture of and posted to Instagram. World-renowned culinary expert Jean-Georges Vongerichten, who owns a restaurant in the hotel, treated Markle and her guests to delicious food.
Now if the baby shower weren’t already amazing enough will all of the delectable treats, New York City-based harpist and singer Erin Hill, who has played at the Royal Albert Hall and Carnegie Hall, arrived at the Mark with her harp in tow, PEOPLE reports.
Markle and her guests also partook in flower-arranging lesson from florist Lewis Miller, and all of the finished arrangements were donated to an organization called Repeat Roses.
“We each all made an individual vase,” King revealed on CBS This Morning. “Meghan got in touch with an organization I've never heard of, Repeat Roses, and all of those were donated to different charities. I thought that was a very sweet thing. It just speaks to who she is. She's very kind, she's very generous, and a really, really sweet person.” How sweet!
"I've never seen anything like this at a baby shower."@GayleKing says guests made flower arrangements at Meghan Markle's baby shower that @RepeatRoses donated to different charities. "It just speaks to who she is."🌹👶 pic.twitter.com/IlCpZ6ZpeZ
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) February 21, 2019
You might recall that Markle had donated her flowers from her royal wedding, so it definitely comes to show that she is very giving.
The Duchess of Sussex’s friends also brought an abundance of gifts, but King revealed on CBS This Morning that she did not open the gifts for a very sweet reason.
“She didn't open any of the gifts because she wants to do that when she and Harry are back together,” King said.
Markle was spotted leaving her hotel Wednesday night to return back to London, as she and her royal husband will be jetting off to Morocco for a three-day visit this weekend to focus on girls’ education and youth empowerment, Popsugar reports. Their stay, which will take place from February 23rd to February 25th, will likely be the last time Markle flies before we finally get to meet the royal baby.