Meghan Markle and her daughter, Lilibet, had a recent play date with the little one’s “auntie” Serena Williams, and the mom of two shared a rare picture of the little one on Instagram.
“3 days until the party begins. All are invited!” Meghan, 43, wrote at the bottom of the photo she shared to her Instagram Stories on March 1.
The “party” Meghan was referring to was the premiere of her upcoming lifestyle show, With Love, Meghan, on Netflix.
The Suits alum also posted a quick video of Lilibet, 3, playing Candy Land with Serena, 43. In the clip, Lilibet wore pink floral leggings with a flowy pink top, and in the background set a personalized Candy Land box with Lilibet and brother Archie’s names on it.
“When the aunties come to celebrate…and play!” the Duchess of Sussex captioned the video.
Meghan and Serena first met at the Super Bowl in 2010, but the two became close friends after they reconnected once again in 2014 at yet another Super Bowl.
“When Serena Williams barrelled in my direction this past February at an event, nails done, hair done, everything did, I’ll be honest and say I looked behind me to see who she was running to,” Meghan wrote in her now-defunct blog, The Tig, in August 2014. “Turns out this fancy lady was coming to me. We hit it off immediately, taking pictures, laughing through the flag football game we were both playing in, and chatting not about tennis or acting, but about all the good old fashioned girly stuff.”
She continued, “So began our friendship. She quickly became a confidante I would text when I was traveling, the friend I would rally around for her tennis matches, and the down to earth chick I was able to grab lunch with just a couple weeks ago in Toronto. We are both the same age, have a penchant for hot sauces and adore fashion, but what connects us more than those things is perhaps our belief in exceeding expectations – our endless ambition.”
When the legendary tennis champ revealed that she was expecting her first child in 2017, Meghan gushed about what a great mom she would be.
“She will be an amazing mom. The very best, because she is so attuned to balancing strength and sensitivity. Plus, given that she is pretty epic at karaoke, I think she’ll put her signature Serena spin on singing lullabies for the baby. I can’t wait for that!” she told Vogue at the time.
Later that same year, Serena defended Meghan against the flood of criticism that came after it was revealed she was dating Prince Harry.
“Her personality just shines,” Serena told Vanity Fair in an interview published in September 2017. “I told her, ‘You’ve got to be who you are, Meghan. You can’t hide.’”
Serena was also present at Meghan’s wedding to Harry, 40, and she spoke to Vanity Fair about the experience in 2022 and told the publication that she put quite a bit of thought into her look for the day.
“What’s so iconic about this is that I was, like, ‘Royal wedding? I’m definitely wearing braids,’” Serena said, revealing that the prep actually took all night. “I was so tired, and I was like ‘I’m going to sleep.’ So I lied 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.”
