Meghan Markle made a surprise trip to New York City to support her longtime friend Serena Williams in the 2019 U.S. Open on Saturday, according to multiple reports.
The Duchess of Sussex, traveled solo on a commercial flight from London on Friday, sans Prince Harry and baby Archie, according to People magazine.
The 37-year-old tennis superstar will face Canada’s Bianca Andreescu, 19, in the U.S. Open final later on Saturday. Williams, who is a global adviser to Verizon Media, HuffPost’s parent company, will attempt to acquire her 24th Grand Slam singles title. If Andreescu wins, she’ll be the first Canadian to nab the title.
Markle herself has strong Canadian ties, having lived in Toronto, Ont. for several years while filming Suits. It’s also where she first met Prince Harry.
But she’s been friends with and the two have have publicly supported each other on numerous occasions over the years. The Duchess of Sussex notably made a surprise appearance to support Williams at Wimbledon in July.
The tennis champion, who attended the royal wedding last year with her husband, Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, helped plan Meghan’s baby shower in New York City in February.
Earlier this week, Harry responded to recent criticism for taking private flights while promoting conservation, after he and Meghan visited Elton John’s home in Nice, France, last month.
John was among the number of celebrities who slammed the criticism, calling it “distorted” and “malicious.” He noted that he provided the private jet flight to ensure “much-needed protection” for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
Harry told a crowd in Amsterdam on Tuesday that he spends 99% of his life “traveling the world by commercial.”
“Occasionally there needs to be an opportunity based on a unique circumstance to ensure my family are safe ― and it’s genuinely as simple as that,” he said,
He later added, “We can all do better and while no one is perfect, we all have a responsibility for our own individual impact.”
With files from Premila D’Sa.