In an Instagram post to advertise the debut of the Duchess of Sussex’s podcast on Tuesday, Serena Williams referred to Meghan Markle as a “dear friend” and called her a “true friend.”
The tennis pro sent Meghan a picture of herself and her daughter Olympia. The heading stated: “As my dear friend Meghan’s first guest on #archetypes for @spotify, I really enjoyed discussing so many significant issues with her. You should give it a listen right away, especially if you’re ambitious.”
The first episode of Meghan’s Archetypes podcast, which debuted on Tuesday, will “dissect, explore, and subvert the labels that try to hold women back,” according to Meghan.
View this post on Instagram
The two women’s close friendship was evident during Williams’ appearance as a guest on the podcast, despite claims from a royal biographer that the tennis player had “denied” that she was friends with Meghan.
The self-described “monarchist” biographer Tom Bower claimed that Sam Kashner, who conducted the interview with Meghan for Vanity Fair’s 2016 profile, also went to some of the actress’ friends to get quotes.
In Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the War Between the Windsors, Bower noted that “over the next few days he called those whom Meghan had recommended as her friends.”
“Serena Williams asserted that she was only Meghan’s acquaintance and not a friend. He was given the cryptic quote, “You have to be who you are, Meghan,” by the speaker. You can’t run away.”
However, the friendship between the two was on display in the summer of 2016 when Meghan sat in the players’ box on Center Court for one of Williams’ Wimbledon matches. Meghan first met Prince Harry on the same trip to Europe.
Williams attended their wedding in 2018, which she spoke about in a recent interview with Vogue.
“I love this image—this is at the royal wedding when my friend Meghan married Harry,” the sports star said, pointing to a photo of herself and her husband Alexis Ohanian taken outside St. George’s Chapel in Windsor.
Then the athlete talked about wanting to wear braids to the nuptials. So they braided my hair all night, she explained. “I was so exhausted as two or three girls braided my hair. Although the process was very drawn out, it was well worth it.”
The term “ambitious” and how it is negatively associated with women were discussed in the first episode of Meghan’s Archetypes.
Before meeting her future husband, she didn’t recall ever experiencing the negative connotation associated with the word “ambitious,” she recalled. According to some, ambition is “and apparently a terrible, terrible thing for a woman.”
Williams’ decision to retire from tennis, becoming a mother and the expectations placed on her as a successful, “ambitious,” black woman were all mentioned by the royal as examples of how Williams “embodies the spirit of ambition.”
The duchess mentioned a visit by Williams to their home, where the three of them spoke about the tennis star’s decision to retire, giving listeners a glimpse into the private lives of Meghan and Harry throughout the episode.
Williams was joined by Harry, who dropped by to compliment Williams on her hair and nudge her toward the couple.
“How are you?
…I like how you styled your hair! The prince complimented her on her “great vibe” before inviting her to come to see them.”
Meghan’s debut solo album with Spotify, Archetypes, comes after the couple agreed to a multi-million dollar content creation deal with the streaming giant in 2020.
Every week, new episodes of Archetypes will be released, and Meghan has already mentioned that Mariah Carey will be her second guest.
