She may be a British royal now, but Meghan Markle still loves a good, old-fashioned girls’ trip. Ahead of the birth of her first child, the Duchess wasn’t going to miss out on a chance to celebrate with her American girl squad.
Markle chose New York City as the site of her stateside baby shower (another is planned for the U.K.), which will reportedly take place in the $75,000 per night penthouse of the Mark Hotel on Wednesday, according to Hello! magazine. Michelin-starred chef Jean-Georges, head of the onsite restaurant of the same name, is rumored to be catering.
Reuniting with pals like newlywed Priyanka Chopra and Serena Williams, who reportedly helped organize today’s celebration, Markle’s five-day stay began last weekend. According to Glamour and Vogue, her schedule has already included high tea, shopping for baby clothes, dinner at Ralph Lauren’s Polo Bar, a visit to the Met Breuer Museum, and even some very royal-sounding floral arranging. (She doesn’t have someone to do that for her?)
And of course, there was maternity fashion—though Markle seems to have kept it monochromatic for Manhattan. The seven-months-pregnant duchess has been spotted wearing items from Victoria Beckham, Carolina Herrera, Tamara Mellon, and an especially covetable vintage Courrèges Haute Couture black trapeze coat in matelassé silk, dating to approximately 1965 and sourced by London’s William Vintage (pictured above with a grey tote from Carolina Herrera).
And for those surprised to see the Duchess traveling so close to her approaching due date in late April, this is actually the first of two final trips she’ll take before returning to London to await her first child. She’ll travel to Morocco with husband this weekend for an official visit.