Meghan Markle has been seen heading to lunch with the hairstylist who worked on her royal wedding look at a celebrity favourite less than a mile from Kensington Palace.
The 45-year-old Duchess of Sussex, wearing another ensemble valued at more than £20,000, was accompanied by A-list stylist George Northwood, 47, and a member of her public relations team at The Park in Bayswater.
Meghan arrived at the restaurant and bar with Northwood on Wednesday, only a week after meeting Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai for afternoon tea in London.
Staff described the Duchess as ‘lovely’ and said she ‘talked to everyone’ after selecting a window table overlooking Hyde Park.
Located in Queensway, The Park is a short walk from Nottingham Cottage, Meghan’s first British home with Harry in the grounds of Kensington Palace.
Meghan appeared to have had her hair freshly styled for the outing, pairing the polished look with an equally glamorous outfit.
The former Suits star, who is reportedly eager to return to acting, wore an £85 black tuxedo jacket from Marks & Spencer. She accessorised it with a £16,210 diamond and emerald chain necklace by California-based designer Logan Hollowell.
She completed the look with her favoured Chanel bag, estimated to be worth about £6,000, Anine Bing jeans priced at up to £320 and sand suede stilettos by Jennifer Chamandi, costing £650.
Meghan Markle reunites in London with wedding reception hairstylist George Northwood (right) for lunch
The Duchess of Sussex paired an emerald and diamond necklace worth £16,210 with an M&S tuxedo jacket
The Duchess of Sussex has made two London appearances in the space of a week
Mr Northwood styled Meghan for her evening reception and accompanied her on her first royal tour of Australasia in 2018
PR executive Sarah Corney also joined the Duchess of Sussex for lunch at The Park in Bayswater
The trio spent two hours at the celebrity hotspot on Wednesday
Meghan with Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala after their ‘private’ tea at Claridge’s a week earlier
The relaxed lunch followed Meghan’s meeting with Malala Yousafzai at Claridge’s a week earlier, where they shared tea, cake and sandwiches. Their embrace on the steps marked Meghan’s first public appearance in London since Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022.
On this occasion, she was joined by Mr Northwood, the stylist who created the messy bun Meghan wore for her evening wedding reception in Windsor after marrying Harry in May 2018.
Northwood, who has also styled Alexa Chung, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Lily Collins, travelled with Meghan on her royal tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand later that year. The pair have remained close ever since.
A waiter at The Park, the New York-inspired restaurant, said Meghan stayed for two hours.
‘I was thrilled, to be honest, when I saw her come in. I didn’t know she was coming beforehand,’ he told the Daily Mail.
‘She sat by the window and I think people were surprised she was here. She was lovely, though. She interacted and talked to everyone.
‘We get celebrities here all the time. She’s only a human being, but it’s someone you’re not familiar with. It was surreal.’
Film director Steven Soderbergh is a regular, while singer Joe Jonas has visited in recent weeks.
The restaurant, set up by acclaimed restaurateur Jeremy King, is known for dishes including lobster rolls, chicken Milanese and New Orleans crab cakes, as well as build-your-own ice cream sundaes.
Meghan and George were joined for lunch by PR executive Sarah Corney, who worked at Netflix for almost a decade.
She promoted the six-part bombshell documentary Harry & Meghan, as well as the Duchess’s With Love, Meghan series, which was axed after two seasons.
Sarah has since joined Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis, the PR firm that famously represented Meghan during her time on Suits and continued to support her after she moved to the UK to marry Prince Harry.
Meghan stands by her Range Rover
She was met at the restaurant by Sarah Corney, the managing director of Sunshine Sachs Morgan & Lylis’ London office
Meghan has popped up twice in London in a week
Before this month, she was last seen in the capital at the Queen’s funeral four years ago
Meghan has the door held open for her at the New York-inspired restaurant and bar in Queensway
Staff said that Meghan has been ‘lovely’ to serve
Their lunch came less than 24 hours before Meghan and Harry made their first public appearance together since their extraordinary return to the UK.
The Duke of Sussex repeatedly put a protective arm around his wife as they were cheered by crowds and stopped for selfies during a series of royal-style engagements in Nottingham on Thursday.
When a supporter welcomed her back to the UK, Meghan smiled and replied: ‘It’s wonderful to be back.’
Their royal-style charity engagements in the East Midlands, just six weeks after returning to live in Britain, came after the King described the Sussexes as ‘private citizens’.
Critics have called the visits, organised by Team Sussex, a ‘cynical’ attempt to return to royal duties ‘by stealth’. Harry was in playful mood and was pictured tickling a man’s ginger beard.
Meghan has been busy in the past fortnight, launching a new advent calendar and a collaboration with Malala.
She is donating a day’s proceeds of all jam and tea sales from her Californian brand As Ever to Yousafzai’s charity, the Malala Fund, in honour of the International Day of the Girl on October 11.
Although the Daily Mail’s Alison Boshoff revealed that this may end up being less than the £2,000 value of the trousers she wore when they met at Claridge’s last week.
The Sussexes looked very happy to be in Nottingham, with Harry putting a protective arm around his wife on their first UK appearance for four years on Thursday
Meghan flew the flag for British fashion in a £1,495 wool and cashmere coat from Joseph teamed with the brand’s cashmere turtleneck jumper, costing £345, and the £695 mini loaf bag
On Sunday, alongside a shot of her grinning at that tea, as Malala looked solemn, the Duchess shared a joint statement from the pair.
‘When we support the girls today, we empower the women of tomorrow. Access to education is the key to unlocking this,’ she said.
She then told her 4.9million followers: ‘This International Day of the Girl, in partnership with Archewell Philanthropies, 100 per cent of net proceeds from As Ever jams and teas will support Malala Fund and its vital work to ensure every girl has access to free safe quality education. Tea for Two has never felt so good. Shop at asever.com’.
Her office this week declined to confirm any sales figures from Sunday.
Even a generous extrapolation from the only available data suggests a day of proceeds from tea and jam will add around £1,900 to the Malala Fund coffers.
Despite becoming increasingly active in the UK, including through a number of visits to London, the couple have yet to meet King Charles and remain estranged from the Prince and Princess of Wales.
One source claimed the Sussexes have taken their Christmas plans into their own hands because they ‘know they’re not invited’ to Sandringham.
Harry and Meghan are understood to be planning to spend school holidays and half-term breaks either in California or Portugal, where they also own a property.
