Meghan Markle's 4-Car Motorcade For Broadway Show Raises Eyebrows: 'Over-The-Top And Excessive'

Meghan Markle was seen enjoying a night out in NYC, dining with friends and attending Audra McDonald's Broadway show, quietly supporting the actress who has publicly praised her.

However, while certain showgoers claimed not to have noticed the Duchess of Sussex, she caused a stir with her four-car motorcade, which was slammed as "absolutely abnormal."

While Meghan Markle enjoyed her Broadway night out, Prince Harry visited a Ukrainian rehab center for war veterans following a court hearing in London over his downgraded security.

Meghan was recently spotted out for an evening in New York City, dining with close friends at the Polo Bar on Thursday night before heading out to catch a Broadway show.

In photos obtained by Page Six, the Duchess of Sussex looked effortlessly elegant as she opted for a black blouse paired with a sophisticated, floor-length houndstooth pencil skirt by Carolina Herrera, reportedly priced at $1,390.

She completed her outfit with sharp stilettos, straightened hair, and minimal jewelry. After dinner, the group made their way to Times Square in a four-car convoy, which included an unmarked NYPD vehicle.

Meghan and her circle were escorted by a security detail into the Majestic Theatre, where they watched a performance of the classic musical "Gypsy," starring six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald.

Despite the high-profile outing, Meghan's presence flew under the radar.

The news outlet noted that several audience members had no idea she was in attendance, with one saying, "I was too busy being transfixed by Audra."

While Meghan's presence at the Broadway show may have gone unnoticed to many, her elaborate security and four-car motorcade set tongues wagging.

According to Page Six, the excess SUVs were used mostly as a decoy to throw off paparazzi trying to get a shot of the royal. While Meghan rode in one of the cars, the other two seemingly had no passengers, and a fourth was said to be an unmarked police vehicle.

Speaking to the news outlet, a Paparazzi insider slammed Meghan's security measures as "absolutely abnormal, totally over-the-top and excessive."

"Taylor [Swift] usually has two cars — her car that she's in and a security car with her team," the source said, adding, "and if she's going somewhere, she has a separate car on-site with her team already there, but they don't travel together."

The source further called out the Duchess for using police escorts, claiming that "if NYPD was not on duty, then they shouldn't be allowed to run lights. Somebody's got to be paying for it."

However, another insider argued that it's okay for a celebrity to have police protection, noting that "It's something that can be made available based on the threat assessment and the circumstances of where they're going and what they're doing."

See photos from the Duchess' outing here.

McDonald, the Broadway star whom the Duchess watched perform, has voiced her admiration for Meghan in the past.

While it's unclear whether the two women have ever met in person, Meghan's attendance at McDonald's two-hour-and-40-minute Broadway performance felt like a quiet nod of appreciation.

In a 2023 interview, the six-time Tony Award winner didn't hold back in her praise, naming Meghan as the person she "admires most" and commending her strength and resilience in the face of relentless public scrutiny.

"I don't know how she continues to walk through this world with the grace, strength, and purpose that she does given the unbearable amount of vitriol and hate she has been subjected to, but she does," McDonald said. "I wish she didn't have to."

She continued, "The thought of having to go through all of that plus having a million cameras in my face, bullied left, right, and center, and still be gracious, elegant, gorgeous, and full of purpose in front of the whole world is unimaginable. Do better. Leave her alone."

As Meghan enjoyed a night on Broadway, her husband, Prince Harry, was across the globe. Fresh off a multi-day security case at London's High Court, the Duke of Sussex quietly traveled to Ukraine to show support for war veterans.

On Thursday, Harry made an unannounced stop at the Superhumans Center, a state-of-the-art rehabilitation facility dedicated to helping those injured in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

While there, he met with medical staff, posed for photos with patients, and held a private meeting with Ukraine's Minister of Veterans Affairs, Natalia Kalmykova.

Harry's visit ties into his long-standing advocacy for wounded servicemen and women—a mission that led him to establish the Invictus Games in 2014.

A few representatives from the organization accompanied him on the trip, which was kept under wraps until he had safely left the region due to security concerns.

While Meghan employs the use of extravagant security in the US, her husband Harry has spent time in the UK, where he continues his legal battle over changes to his security arrangements in the country after stepping back as a working royal.

The prince is challenging a previous ruling that upheld the decision to scale back his taxpayer-funded protection when visiting the country.

The case centers on a decision made by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (RAVEC) back in 2020, shortly after Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior working royals.

In a ruling last year, retired High Court judge Sir Peter Lane found that the committee's decision was neither irrational nor procedurally unfair.

However, Harry is appealing that judgment. During Tuesday's hearing, his legal team argued that the couple "felt forced to step back" from royal duties due to safety concerns and other pressures.

The hearing presided over by Sir Geoffrey Vos, Lord Justice Bean, and Lord Justice Edis, wrapped up on Wednesday. A final decision is expected to be delivered in writing at a later date.