Senior royal aides were understood to be unimpressed by Meghan Markle’s luxury baby shower before she welcomed her firstborn son Archie Harrison in to the world because it had turned into a “media circus”. In February 2019, Meghan jetted off to New York for her luxurious five-day baby shower, organised by best friends tennis star Serena Williams and A-lister Amal Clooney.
The star-studded baby shower was held in a penthouse suite in Mark Hotel in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, which at the time cost an astonishing £57,000-a-night.
But according to explosive claims in unofficial royal biography ‘Finding Freedom’ palace insiders were horrified.
The book, co-authored by royal reporters Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie, said: “While the trip had been a hit with Meghan, senior courtiers back in the UK were spitting out their morning tea when they saw her lavish baby shower thrown by friends 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.
“It’s fair to say that the optics of the somewhat flashy shower did not go down well with certain individuals at the Palace.
“Meghan was often criticised for being too Hollywood, meaning too flashy. Especially for the reserved aesthetic of the monarchy.”
Another source said royal courtiers were left “disappointed,” saying: “I think a few people that had defended her over the months felt a little disappointed. But sometimes in this role you’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t.
“Ultimately, the trip was just Meghan’s friends celebrating a really exciting moment in her life.”
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The special guests headed to The Mark hotel in the Upper East Side for a lavish afternoon tea.
Meghan solo-trip is believed to have costed hundreds of thousands of pounds in accommodation, travel and party favours for the guests.
Despite the baby shower not being funded by taxpayers’ money, many accused Meghan of behaving like a Hollywood celebrity rather than the Duchess of Sussex married to a high profile member of the Royal Family.
Meghan and Prince Harry have distanced themselves from the book on their time in the royal family, saying they were not interviewed for the biography and did not make any contributions to it.
The book, entitled ‘Finding Freedom’, sheds light on the couple’s frustrations with the palace and press before they officially quit the Firm.
It details how the couple felt the royal institution had failed to support them.
A spokesman for the couple said in a statement: “The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to ‘Finding Freedom’.
”This book is based on the authors’ own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting.”
