With Serena Williams and her sister Venus set to compete at Wimbledon later this month, eagle-eyed royal fans will be keen to see if her close friend Meghan Markle cheers her on from the stands.
The Duchess of Sussex, 44, met Serena briefly in 2010, and again in 2014, explaining on her now defunct blog The Tig that the pair ‘hit it off immediately’.
And with Prince Harry reportedly expected to bring Meghan and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, on a rare visit to Britain next month, the intriguing possibility of the royal attending the tennis event is even greater.
Yet while Meghan and Serena’s friendship was once said to be incredibly strong, doubts about the the pair’s closeness have been raised significantly in recent months.
When Meghan sent Serena, 44, a PR parcel filled with her Mother’s Day edit in May, the athlete shared a ‘casual’ promotion, while Serena was also accused of throwing another ‘subtle dig’ at the Duchess by stepping out alongside Emma Thynn that same month.
Yet according to body language expert Judi James, there were possible signs of a pre-existing ‘tension’ between Meghan and Serena’s mother back in 2019 during the sportswoman’s singles final match against Bianca Andreescu at the US Open.
In a short video clip that has since gone viral, Serena’s mother, Oracene Price, briefly ‘appeared to ignore the very animated Duchess as she tried to chat to her’ while they watched the athlete compete from the stands.
And when the former Suits star noticed the cameras were watching, Ms James claimed Meghan went into ‘high-performance mode’ and deliberately undertook numerous ‘theatrical movements’.
According to body language expert Judi James, there were possible signs of a pre-existing ‘tension’ between Meghan and Serena’s mother during the sportswoman’s singles final match against Bianca Andreescu at the US Open in 2019
In a short video clip that has since gone viral, Serena’s mother, Oracene Price, briefly ‘appeared to ignore the very animated Duchess as she tried to chat to her’ while they watched the athlete compete from the stands
Analysing the footage, Ms James told the Daily Mail: ‘While Serena Williams was out on court fighting for her professional life (she lost in straight sets) two of her biggest fans appear to have been locked in a different type of battle up in the Players’ Box’
Analysing the footage, Ms James told the Daily Mail: ‘While Serena Williams was out on court fighting for her professional life (she lost in straight sets) two of her biggest fans appear to have been locked in a different type of battle up in the Players’ Box.
‘It’s clear from the huge contrast between Meghan and Oracene’s body language that their priorities and non-verbal response styles differ enormously.’
The brief moment shared between the two women took place during a break in the play – with the camera panning to the pair drawing a loud cheer from the crowd of spectators.
When Meghan notices the eyes of the stadium are upon her, she begins to undertake ‘very performative-looking behaviours’, according to Ms James.
She added: ‘Her eyes are in high performance mode, apparently picking out the screen or the cameras and responding to her own image.
‘There’s a suggestion that the cameras have triggered her professional actress traits as she mimes tension, support and even affection via some rather theatrical-looking movements.
‘As an actress she would be aware that mirroring Oracene’s body language on the big screen might give her a look of being unemotional, even though the silent stare and hushed stillness of Serena’s mother would be a more authentic response to tension.’
Ms James noted that the Duchess had ‘travelled a long way’ just months after the birth of her son, Archie, at the time, and clearly wanted ‘the world to know that she is there to support her friend’.
However, Oracene, meanwhile, ‘remains in the “zone” here and looks oblivious to any external noise,’ according to Ms James.
She added that when Meghan makes a bid to speak to Serena’s mother, it sadly ‘failed’ – and the Duchess appeared to ‘realise the optics of the situation’ as spectators watched on.
‘She has her hands to her mouth, which is often a childlike ritual of excitement, but she performs a more illustrative signal of tension when she splays her fingers, rubs her hands together and then flexes them into balls,’ claimed Ms James.
Ms James noted that the Duchess had ‘travelled a long way’ just months after the birth of her son, Archie, at the time, and clearly wanted ‘the world to know that she is there to support her friend’
When Meghan notices the eyes of the stadium are upon her, she begins to undertake ‘very performative-looking behaviours,’ according to Ms James
‘With no eye contact or apparent response from Serena’s mother and an awkward-looking moment brewing, Meghan looks up and appears to check the screen.
‘Her mouth opens in a gesture of delight but there is a very rapid and sharp blinking to hint at some inner anxiety about perhaps getting the optics right. She looks to the other side and her teeth appear to be clenched.
‘She performs a “praying” hand gesture to signal globally that she is willing her friend on while her “secret” smile behind the fingers looks like a desire to show affection and warmth.’
However, despite the seemingly tense moment shared between the two women at the US Open, Meghan and Serena’s friendship was said to have gone from strength to strength in the years following.
During the Duchess’s now-defunct Spotify podcast Archetypes, Serena appeared as a guest and explained that she is ‘super loyal, to a fault’ after being ‘friends for so long’ with Meghan.
Serena, who equally isn’t shy about her friendship with Prince Harry’s wife, previously advised Meghan to ‘stop being so nice’ and also praised her ‘class and poise’ in the famous Oprah interview.
According to Mark Hodgkinson in Serena: A Graphic Biography Of The Greatest Tennis Champion, the women’s friendship quickly evolved through frequent phone calls and texts.
After becoming Prince Harry’s girlfriend and then a Duchess, Markle leaned on Serena for mentoring on how to handle the paparazzi and the international media.
Serena advised her to ‘stop being so nice’, according to the author.
The Duchess of Sussex, 44, met Serena briefly in 2010, and again in 2014, explaining on her now defunct blog The Tig that the pair ‘hit it off immediately’
In 2021, Serena revealed: ‘We have known each other for a long time, but we really are relying on each other a lot recently.’ She also described Meghan as ‘the strongest person I know’
And when Meghan learned she was pregnant shortly after Serena’s little girl was born, Serena offered her parenting advice.
In 2021, Serena revealed: ‘We have known each other for a long time, but we really are relying on each other a lot recently.’
She added that watching Meghan marry Prince Harry in May 2018 was particularly special.
Serena said: ‘It was really exciting to see so much African-American culture in the wedding and I was really happy that Meghan wanted to incorporate that into it. It was just a whole cultural shift and change.
‘It was seeing how far African-Americans have come. I thought it was an incredibly inspiring and beautiful and really motivating thing. I was so proud of her and so happy for her.’
Meanwhile, in 2021, Serena praised Meghan, saying she is the ‘epitome of class and strength’ following her bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
She spoke to Behnaz Ghahramani, the chief marketing officer at Stuart Weitzman, for the debut episode of the brand’s Shine Series, where she discussed her long-term friendship with the duchess.
She described Meghan as ‘the strongest person I know’.
Meanwhile, Meghan wrote on her now defunct blog The Tig: ‘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. So began our friendship’.
But speculation that the dynamics of their friendship had shifted first started to mount this year – as fans noted that Serena’s promotion post for Meghan’s As Ever products appeared to involve a much lower effort and was ‘poorly done’.
One wrote: ‘I’m not sure if Serena just tossed the box around before filming, but the end result felt like a very poorly done promotion.’
In the clip, Serena said as she showcased the crushed treats: ‘Anyway, the chocolate was beautiful. It was delicious. I don’t like chocolate, but I have been killing them. So good.’
Commenting on Meghan’s calligraphy, she said: ‘Her penmanship has always been amazing from the 100 years I seem to have known her.’
And when looking at the No.506 candle, which features scents of Ginger, Cashmere and Neroli, Serena said she ‘can’t pronounce’ the last ingredient – and it was much the same for the second candle, which included Santal – ‘another word I can’t pronounce’.
She concluded the post by saying, presumably directed at Meghan: ‘I love candles, thank you, I love you.’
One commenter wrote: ‘It actually makes you wonder – why would you make your friend’s product look bad while trying to promote it?’
A second wrote: ‘Serena has been Markled’. A third joked: ‘I don’t like chocolate… It was delicious… Uhhhhhh.’
A fourth wrote: ‘What a beautiful box…and inside a complete mess.’
However, another came to the athlete’s defence and disagreed, writing: ‘She did say she liked Meghan’s penmanship, and that she doesn’t like chocolate, but she had devoured those ones. I don’t think it was intentional.’
That same month, eagle-eyed royal admirers suggested that Serena has thrown another ‘subtle dig’ at Meghan by stepping out at Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez‘s star-studded pre-Met Gala celebration in New York, alongside Emma Thynn, 40.
Some fans have long accused Meghan of copying the Marchioness, who also has a lifestyle programme, and like the Duchess, produces homemade jam from her Longleat estate.
