Serena Williams explains why her hairstyle for friend Meghan Markle’s wedding took ‘all night’

Serena Williams has shared details about her friend Meghan Markle’s royal wedding, and why her hairstyle for the Duchess of Sussex’s special day took “all night”.

The 40-year-old tennis champion opened up about her outfit for the 2018 royal wedding in a video for Vogue, where she looked back on some of her most iconic looks. At one point, she reflected on the pink dress and jewels she wore to the nuptials as she admired a photo of herself and husband, Alexis Ohanian, at Windsor Castle.

“I love this image,” she said. “This is at the royal wedding, when my friend Meghan married Harry.”

She then reflected on the hairstyle she wore for the occasion, telling Vogue: “What’s so iconic about this is I was like: ‘Royal wedding? I’m definitely wearing braids.’”

Williams also described the “long process” of braiding her hair with the help of multiple stylists, and how it was “so worth it”.

“All night, they were braiding my hair,” she explained. “It was two or three girls braiding my hair, and I was so tired. I was like: ‘I’m going to sleep.’ So I lie down and then they just kept braiding until the morning, and they finally finished.”

“It was a very long process, but it was so worth it,” she added.

After applauding her husband’s look and noting that he “looks a lot younger” in the picture, Williams noted how British style is “definitely different” from that of Americans.

“Women have to wear fascinators, which are hats,” she said. “I love that they call ‘em fascinators.”

Williams first became friends with Meghan back in 2010, after meeting at a party to celebrate the Super Bowl. The pair have continued to support each other on multiple occasions, as Meghan has watched Williams play at Wimbledon and the US Open.

The Grand Slam winner has also previously spoken out about their bond and how much she admires the duchess. Following Meghan’s tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey in July 2021, Williams praised her long-time friend’s “confidence” and “selflessness,” before describing her as the “strongest person” she knows.

“Meghan is a great person and I think the epitome of strength, the epitome of confidence, the epitome of selflessness and the epitome of everything is just her and everything that she’s gone through,” she said.

“I just think that she is the strongest person I know. I don’t know anyone else that could handle everything on such a global scale the way that she’s had to handle things that are just untrue, minute after minute,” the tennis player added.