By Editor,Sabrina Penty

Copyright dailymail

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry enjoyed lunch with tennis legend Serena Williams in New York’s Soho House just a day after the couple were named Humanitarians of the Year.

The Duchess of Sussex wore wide-leg navy trousers, paired with a striped blouse and a brown coat while heading to the members club in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District on Friday.

Meghan, who was out for lunch with her husband and close friend Serena, paired her coat with brown stilettos and had her hair slicked back into a bun.

The duchess and Serena have been close pals since before Meghan met Prince Harry, and often share affectionate posts for one another on social media.

The pair first met at a Super Bowl party in 2010 and became firm friends after reuniting at an event in 2014.

The duchess invited the sportswoman to her wedding to Prince Harry and her star-studded baby shower when pregnant with Archie in 2019.

Serena has also been vocal in her praise for Meghan, including comments following the Duke and Duchess’s bombshell CNN interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.

The tennis player said afterwards: ‘Meghan is a great person and I think the epitome of strength, the epitome of confidence, the epitome of just selflessness, and the epitome of everything is just her and everything that she’s gone through.

‘You can see from the interview that it wasn’t easy. But she had so much poise and she still had so much class..

‘I just think that she is the strongest person I know. I don’t know anyone else that could handle anything on such a global scale the way that she’s had to handle things that are just untrue – minute after minute.

Meghan has been largely associated with Soho House and is close friends with the the Soho House Group’s consultant Markus Anderson.

Prince Harry and Meghan’s outing with Williams came just a day after they were named ‘Humanitarians of the Year’ at a glitzy New York gala on Thursday.

The Duchess of Sussex used her acceptance speech to voice fears about Archie and Lilibet growing up in a digital age.

She was also praised as ‘a mother, wife, entrepreneur, and philanthropist’ as she received the Project Healthy Minds award.

Harry’s work with mental health companies and his controversial 2021 memoir Spare were listed among his achievements.

The couple were very tactile on the red carpet and speaking on stage as she accepted the award, Meghan said: ‘Our children, Archie and Lili, are just six and four years old. Luckily still too young for social media, but we know that day is coming.

‘Like so many parents, we think constantly about how to embrace technology’s benefits, while safeguarding against its dangers. That hopeful intention of separation is rapidly becoming impossible.’

Project Healthy Minds’ ‘Humanitarians of the Year’ award has only been won once before, last year. Jeff Yabuki and his wife Gail got the gong for their commitment to mental health work after Jeff’s brother took his own life in 2017.

Meghan was joined on stage by Harry, who also shared words of wisdom about the dangers of technological advancements.

He said: ‘This is a pivotal moment in our collective mission to protect children and support families in a digital age.’

The pair were met with applause as they wrapped up their remarks – but royal watchers were struck by how similar their message was to the Princess of Wales’s from earlier today.

It came after Meghan made her debut at Paris Fashion Week last Saturday to attend the glamorous Balenciaga show.

However, according to multiple PR experts, Meghan’s appearance wasn’t one that was perfectly executed – in fact, it seemed far from it.

‘Paris Fashion Week was Megan’s deliberate re-entry into the cultural elite,’ Sarah Schmidt, President of Interdependence Public Relations, told Daily Mail exclusively.

Schmidt shared that Meghan is ‘showing that she’s creating a brand and legacy on her own without the royal rule book.’

But the event she chose to attend may not have been the right choice, according to the expert.

Elsewhere, the Daily Mail revealed this week that a friend of the Sussexes has predicted: ‘Meghan will return to Britain before the year is out’ and could come bearing ‘humble pie’.

The couple are apparently planning their reconciliation with the royal family in a secret plot dubbed: ‘Project Thaw’. There have been claims that William could even meet Harry – but he is not willing to do so with Meghan present.