Over the weekend, Serena Williams sparked further speculation about her friendship with Meghan Markle as she was seen socializing with the Marchioness of Bath. This development has added another layer to the ongoing narrative surrounding the tennis icon and the Duchess of Sussex.
Speculation about a potential rift between Serena and Meghan began after a promotion on Instagram for the brand ‘As Ever’ didn’t go as planned. The post, which featured a public relations package filled with Meghan’s curated Mother’s Day selections, left fans questioning the depth of their friendship.
Adding fuel to the fire, Serena made an appearance at a high-profile pre-Met Gala celebration hosted by Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez in New York. She was accompanied by Emma Thynn, the Marchioness of Bath, which some royal enthusiasts interpreted as a veiled jab at Meghan.
Emma Thynn has often been compared to Meghan, as she also runs a lifestyle program and produces homemade jam from her Longleat estate, mirroring some of Meghan’s endeavors. These parallels have not gone unnoticed by fans and media alike.
The latest season of the reality TV show “Ladies of London: The New Reign” intensified these comparisons. In the premiere episode, designer Lottie Kane mentioned the Duchess while introducing viewers to the Marchioness, highlighting the ongoing intrigue surrounding these two influential women.
In the opening scenes, released in March, designer Lottie Kane brought up the Duchess while introducing the Marchioness to viewers.
‘She is the first black woman to be married into an aristocratic family, and I think Meghan Markle tries to claim that, but it was actually Emma,’ she said.
‘I’m of mixed heritage, half-Nigerian, half-English,’ added Emma, who became the Marchioness of Bath after her husband Ceawlin Thynn’s father, Alexander Thynn, died in 2020.
The Marchioness of Bath and Serena Williams are seen in Times Square on May 2, 2026 in New York City
‘The press commented heavily on the fact that I was going to become the first woman of colour to hold this title, and I acknowledge the fact that… the only woman of colour in this position is me, still to this day,’ she continued.
Meanwhile, Emma also attended the King’s Trust Gala in New York, alongside the Duchess’s former bestie Edward Enninful, greeting King Charles on his US tour.
On Saturday night, Emma appeared pretty in pink as she sported a shimmering mini dress, teamed with a coordinating fur coat for the pre-Met Gala event.
Looking effortlessly elegant, the Marchioness was pictured walking arm-in-arm with Serena, who put on an equally leggy display in a gray mini frock with ruched detailing.
The duo were joined by the former tennis player’s husband Alexis Ohanian, whom she tied the knot with in 2017.
Serena and Emma are thought to be close friends. They’ve holidayed together in Spain and the Marchioness previously appeared on the A-lister’s podcast Stockton Street.
Meghan has yet to attend the Met Gala, the most dazzling night in the fashion calendar, and isn’t thought to have been invited this year, despite Serena’s sister Venus Williams being a co-chair at the 2026 event.
Following the launch of the Duchess’ Netflix series in 2025, ‘With Love, Meghan’, eagle-eyed viewers spotted a series of similarities to a YouTube cooking show, ‘Emma’s Kitchen’, hosted by the Marchioness.
On Saturday night, Emma appeared pretty in pink as she sported a shimmering mini dress, teamed with a coordinating fur coat for the pre-Met Gala event
Looking effortlessly elegant, the Marchioness was pictured walking arm-in-arm with Serena, who put on an equally leggy display in a gray mini frock with ruched detailing
The duo were joined by the former tennis player’s husband Alexis Ohanian (pictured left), whom she tied the knot with in 2017
The Celebrity MasterChef contestant – formally known as Emma Thynn, Marchioness of Bath – posts videos of her creations after launching the brand in 2015 using the backdrop of the original kitchens within Longleat House.
One observer tweeted similar still images from each show, writing: ‘Emma Weymouth, Marchioness of Bath, has had a cooking programme at Longleat estate for nine years!’
Another said: ‘Why is Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex trying to channel Emma Thynn, Marchioness of Bath? TBH, Emma seems more natural while Meghan often seems like she’s acting from a script. I think Meghan should focus strictly on charity work.’
A third added: ‘This woman has no original idea! This is a copy of Emma’s Kitchen!’ And a fourth tweeted: ‘Very much like Emma’s Kitchen on YouTube.’
When previously asked by the Daily Mail’s Harriet Kean what she thought of claims Meghan had copied her, Emma raised her eyebrow and said: ‘No comment.’
In an interview with this paper in 2018, Emma was questioned whether she was ‘bored with the comparisons to the new Duchess of Sussex?’
The Marchioness said: ‘I wouldn’t presume to compare myself to Meghan, but she too broke the mould by being the first black woman to marry into the Royal Family.
‘I want to emphasise how positively this has been welcomed: she has been embraced by the Royal Family and by Britain.’
Fan-tastic: Emma Weymouth (right) appears alongside her tennis star pal, Serena Williams in Spain
Meghan with actress Mindy Kaling in the trailer for ‘With Love, Meghan’
Some viewers compared scenes from Meghan’s Netflix series to those in the YouTube cooking show ‘Emma’s Kitchen’ hosted by Emma Thynn, Marchioness of Bath (above)
Serena and Emma’s big night out comes after royal fans questioned the Duchess’ closeness to the star after her ‘disastrous’ As Ever promotion on Instagram.
The former tennis player was among the lucky few to receive a PR parcel filled with Meghan’s Mother’s Day edit last month, which included candles inspired by her children and a £42 box of chocolates.
But instead of posting a glowing, high-effort product shot, the athlete shared a bizarre, ‘casual’ attempt at promotion, showing the chocolates displaced and partially crushed in the box, or as she put it, ‘botched’ – before adding that she ‘doesn’t like chocolate’.
The post was worlds away from the usual snaps shared by celebrities to promote their friends’ businesses – and when Meghan sent round her first PR packages, Kris Jenner and Chrissy Teigen shared a stunning setup to showcase the products.
Serena’s post appeared to involve a much lower effort, with fans branding the post ‘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’.
The Duchess of Sussex’s friendship with Serena Williams has been questioned after the tennis star’s Instagram post (pictured together in California in 2024)
The As Ever chocolates were smashed and displaced when Serena showed them to her 18 million followers
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.’
Another disagreed, saying: ‘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.’
Meghan met Serena briefly in 2010, and again in 2014, explaining on her now defunct blog The Tig that the pair ‘hit it off immediately’.
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The duchess invited the sportswoman to her wedding to Prince Harry and her star-studded baby shower when pregnant with Archie in New York City in February 2019.
Serena 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, Meghan 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.
And when Meghan learned she was pregnant shortly after Serena’s little girl was born, she offered her parenting advice.
In 2021, Williams 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’.
