How to Spend a Royal Day in New York City Like Meghan Markle
Ready to treat the Big Apple like your own royal turf?
Meghan Markle took New York City by storm when she visited this week for a baby shower with some of her closest friends. Whether you’re a tourist taking the train in for the day or a local ready to explore some new haunts, you don’t need a tiara to trace the Duchess of Sussex’s tracks and visit some of the spots she hit during her whirlwind trip.
But first, the fashion. Meghan’s affinity for dark colors fits in perfectly with a standard New Yorker’s winter wardrobe. As she headed out of her Upper East Side hotel on Tuesday afternoon, the royal mom-to-be wore dark Le Spec sunglasses and placed a hand on her baby bump over her vintage coat as she headed out. She completed her look with the “Nearly Skinny Maternity” jeans by Hatch Maternity as well as beige heels and a matching handbag by Carolina Herrera.
Meghan and her friend, actress Abigail Spencer, started their outing by hitting the Met Breuer. Part of the more well-known Metropolitan Museum of Art, the museum is home to modern and contemporary works by artists from around the world. The best part? Admission for New Yorkers and students from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut is pay what you wish, while visitors’ tickets cost $25 for adults and $12 for students.
If checking out the same art as Meghan piques your interest, don’t wait too long – in 2020, the space will be turned over to the Frick Collection.
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Meghan and Abigail then grabbed a bite to eat at Café Boulud, inside the Surrey Hotel, a few blocks away. The Michelin-starred French restaurant near Central Park was opened by highly praised Chef Daniel Boulud, and its dishes, from smoked salmon eggs benedict for a weekend brunch to lamb roganjosh for a memorable dinner, are prepared by Chef Aaron Bludorn.
Turn your visit into a date night on Fridays, when live jazz is performed from 9 p.m. to midnight.
After a day-to-night wardrobe change – Meghan switched into her navy Victoria Beckham coat, carried a black Stella McCartney purse and accessorized with a black scarf to stay warm – gather up your closest pals and head to Ralph Lauren’s The Polo Bar. You may choose to settle in for dinner – steaks, burgers and plenty of vegetarian options are on the menu – or opt to just hit the bar for their signature cocktails. Royal fans will undoubtedly be tempted to try the “Prince of Wales,” a drink mixing rye, champagne, cherry heering, honey and pineapple.
The Polo Bar has hosted a number of celebrity guests, including Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez and Katy Perry, to name a few.
Meghan may be a California girl at heart, but something about New York City has always had her smitten. The former actress wrote about the hustle and bustle of the city in a June 2014 post on her now-retired lifestyle blog, The Tig.
“The memories of filming the pilot for Suits, the fast frenetic energy only lulled by my morning jog through Central Park, the quintessential Manhattan bravado, the elderly ladies who lunch at Bergdorfs (draped in diamonds, nursing their martinis, watching the day go by against the backdrop of Kelly Wearstler papered walls) – these are a few of the reasons I love New York,” Meghan wrote. “But it’s the food, the mother f-ing fantastic, crave-worthy food, that keeps me wrapped around its little finger.”
The avid food lover went on to list a few her must-hit restaurants, “whether I have 5 days in the city or just 32 hours.” Some of her favorites? Mulberry Street pizza joint Rubirosa, ramen haven Hinata and Chef Jean George Vongerichten’s eponymous New French eatery overlooking Central Park.
