One Will Take New York

Meghan Markle’s Starry Trip to NYC

The duchess’ brief, flashbulb-bathed stay in New York showed how comfortable she is among the glamor and guilt-free indulgence of America.

How on earth has Meghan Markle managed to survive this long in the muddy and tweed-clad environs of British aristocratic life?

On Tuesday, she was back in one of the natural habitats of a Hollywood star: New York’s Upper East Side, where they were literally trucking in flowers and other vegetation (at one stage an orange tree was delivered) for her all-American, celebrity-powered baby shower.

Meghan’s presence in New York, where she arrived Friday, had remained a secret until she was photographed in Soho on Monday. It was quickly established she was staying at the extremely luxurious Mark Hotel on the Upper East Side (where the shower was held).

With the cat out of the bag, Meghan threw caution to the wind Tuesday, first stepping out for lunch at the nearby Surrey hotel with her friend, former Suits star Abigail Spencer, before rocking back to the Mark for the party (where, presumably the staff had used the time to finish setting up the flowers).

After the celebrations were over, Meghan went out again, hitting the Polo restaurant on Fifth Avenue with her pals Serena Williams; Markus Anderson, Soho House’s global director of membership; and Jessica Mulroney, the Canadian stylist who is her best friend.

Jessica’s three children, twins Brian and John, aged 8, and daughter Isabel, aged 5, acted as pages and bridesmaid at her wedding to Harry.

For this excursion, Meghan was wearing a $2,500 Victoria Beckham coat.

She left the restaurant in a haze of flashbulbs some three hours later, before being whisked back to the Mark with Serena by a security detail that included both royal protection officers and U.S. State Department officers.

If anyone doubted that this is the most famous pregnant woman on the planet, here was the proof, and it also showed a side of Meghan that she has deliberately played down since her wedding to Prince Harry—that of the glamorous Hollywood star.

Soon Meghan will be flying back over the Atlantic, her suitcases no doubt filled with quality swag (including the Moses basket and top-of-the-range baby carriage that were seen being delivered to The Mark yesterday).

She loves Harry, of that there is no doubt, but which side of the Atlantic does her heart truly belong?

When one considers the abuse and hassle she has faced in her adopted country, it would be strange if she was not boarding the flight with a certain amount of reservation.

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Tom SykesEuropean Editor at Large

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