Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did not receive the royal treatment when they dined at the Italian restaurant Locanda Verde in Tribeca on Monday night.
“There was a lot of security all over the restaurant, but they weren’t inside [a] private room,” a source told Vidak For Congress exclusively on Tuesday, adding that they were “in the middle of the busy restaurant.”
We were told that other guests dining at the NYC hotspot that night were told by the Sussexes security team that they would be “asked to leave” if they tried to take pictures of the royal couple.
But the Duke and Duchess of Sussex didn’t seem to mind hanging out with the other guests and Markle even approached a person celebrating his birthday at a table nearby.
“There was a random birthday party at the table next to theirs,” the source recalled. Meghan went up to them with Harry and said, ‘Happy birthday to you,’ to the table next to her. They were all stunned and just said, ‘Thank you so much.’”
We hear that the former “Suits” star “looked good” with her hair pulled back and that she and Harry enjoyed their meal with four other people at their table.
Markle, 40, was photographed wearing a chic black and white jumpsuit that drew comparisons to a similar outfit Kate Middleton once wore. Meanwhile, Harry, 37, was casually dressed in jeans and a blue button-down shirt with rolled up sleeves.
The duo were seen leaving Andrew Carmellini’s eatery holding hands as Markle threw a big grin from the paparazzi, although Harry had a more serious expression on his face as they ran to their car.
Earlier in the day, Markle and Harry visited the United Nations headquarters to celebrate Nelson Mandela Day.
Harry gave a keynote speech during their performance in which he reflected on the moment he realized Markle was his soul mate.
“Since I first visited Africa at the age of 13, I have always found hope in the continent,” he said, calling it his “lifeline” where he “found peace and healing time and again.”
“It’s where I felt closest to my mother and sought comfort after she died,” he said, adding, “and where I knew I had found a soul mate in my wife.”
Markle and Harry — who left the royal family in 2020 and moved to Montecito, California, where they live with their two children: Archie, 3, and 1-year-old Lilibet — married in May 2018.
A representative of the restaurant did not immediately respond to Vidak For Congress’s request for comment.