Meghan Markle spotted wearing promotional hat for charity tennis tournament in honor of friend Kelly McKee Zajfen’s son who died last year at age 9
Meghan Markle paid a sweet tribute to her friend’s son who died aged nine by wearing a promotional hat for a tennis tournament played in his honour.
The Duchess of Sussex, 42, stepped out in the faded green cap in Santa Barbara on Monday, as well as an array of casual luxury.
Beneath the simple athleisure look was a cap from the George Zajfen tournament.
The tournament helps protect the rights of children, young adults and families affected by child welfare systems, and is played in honor of George Zajfen, who died last year at the age of nine.
Meghan is a long-term friend of George’s mother Kelly McKee Zajfen, who the Duchess previously described as an “incredible friend and mother.”
The Duchess of Sussex, 42, stepped out in the faded green cap in Santa Barbara on Monday, as well as an array of casual luxury. Now it can be revealed that the cap is a tribute to the late son of Meghan’s friend Kelly McKee Zajfen
The cap is a promotional item from a tennis match in honor of George Zajfen, who died at the age of nine
Last month, the couple was spotted leaving a local restaurant in Montecito.
It comes 17 months after a close friend of the Zajfen family revealed to DailyMail.com that Kelly’s son George had been found ‘unresponsive’ in their family home and that his death had come as a complete shock to his loved ones and parents.
In September, the George Zajfen Tournament – Tennis for Tots was played in George’s honor to raise money for the Alliance for Children’s Rights.
Kelly – who is also mother to George’s twin sister Lily – has herself been open about her grief on Instagram, writing in October last year that she was ‘not really doing well’, telling her followers: ‘The light is every day weak. I’m trying my best. We all do our best. I’m so broken.
“Every day I look for a new way to put the pieces back together and I am fully aware that it may not all fit again.”
In May, she posted a heartfelt tribute to Meghan, praising the Duchess of Sussex for her support and praising her for being such an “incredible friend and mother.”
“You are always the first to say yes and support the people you love. You are a fierce advocate for those in need,” Kelly continued, sharing a photo of herself and the Duchess of Sussex, both wearing “Community Motherhood” T-shirts, in support of an Alliance of Moms campaign .
Meghan and Harry donated $5,000 to one GoFundMe fundraiser set up to cover funeral costs on behalf of their children Archie and Lilibet.
Meghan’s ex-husband Trevor Engelson, 45, also donated $1,000 in his name and that of his wife Tracey Kurland, 35.
Meghan is a long-term friend of George’s mother Kelly McKee Zajfen, who previously described the Duchess as an ‘incredible friend and mother’ (the pair are pictured together)
Former model Kelly McKee Zajfen’s nine-year-old son, George, was found “unconscious” in the family’s Los Angeles home last year. (L-R George, Kelly, Lily, nine, father Julian)
A source told DailyMail.com that Meghan met Zajfen through Engelson, who is friends with her entertainment lawyer husband Julian, 47.
Another friend said the pair had bonded through Zajfen’s role as founder of Alliance of Moms — an LA-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting pregnant teens and new mothers in the foster care system.
Zajfen’s famous friends paid tribute to George on her Instagram post, including Buffy star Sarah Michelle Gellar and actresses Minka Kelly and Jamie Lynn-Siegler.
Kelly is co-founder of Alliance of Moms, a “community of LA philanthropists supporting pregnant teens and teens in LA’s foster care system.”
She also runs an environmentally conscious children’s clothing brand.
Announcing her son’s heartbreaking death in July, Kelly said she would carry on for the sake of George’s twin sister Lily, who has a pacemaker for a heart condition.
Ahead of her first Mother’s Day, Kelly is the first since her son’s death to post a thank you to Meghan online.
Kelly is pictured with her nine-year-old son George
The Duchess of Sussex put a supportive arm around her friend as they left a restaurant in May
In a post on Instagram, she said: ‘As Mother’s Day approaches, I can’t help but think about my own #community of motherhood.
‘I immediately think of you Meg. You are incredibly caring, warm and open. What a wonderful friend and mother.
“I am truly in awe of you and so grateful that you are part of my #CommUNITYofmotherhood.
“You are always the first to say yes and support the people you love. You are a fierce advocate for those in need.
“Thank you for joining this year’s campaign to support LA’s expectant and parenting youth, providing critical services, education, resources and advocacy so they can build better futures for themselves and their families.”
In addition to the cap, Meghan also wore Princess Diana’s watch and a diamond tennis bracelet from Bentley & Skinner – a gift from the king worth at least £4,900.
First worn on the eve of her wedding to Prince Harry, the piece was first created by royal warrant holders Bentley & Skinner and features ninety-two round brilliant-cut diamonds.
A fund has been set up on behalf of the Zajfen family of Los Angeles, who tragically lost their nine-year-old son George (LR George, Kelly, Lily, nine, father Julian).
Meghan and her ex-husband both donated to the funeral
Meghan last wore the bracelet publicly during a walk in May, and before that it hasn’t been seen since 2022, giving even more meaning to her choice to wear it today, on top of her Cartier Love bracelet.
At first glance, it would be easy to miss the piece that sat on her wrist above the sturdier bracelet, but the sparkle of diamonds quickly gave it away.
It could be a sign of peace between the warring Windsors after Scobie’s new book Endgame named Charles and the Princess of Wales as the two royal families who reportedly raised concerns about the color of Prince Archie’s skin before he was born.
Harry and Meghan are said to be ‘desperate to return to the royal fold’ and recently contacted Charles for his 75th birthday.
The bracelet, which was last worn in public in May during a walk in California, could be the duchess’s subtle nod to her family 5,000 miles away.
Her appearance comes as Scobie, who is seen as the couple’s unofficial spokesperson, is still grappling with the fallout from his new book.
An early draft of the book, given to Dutch translators, named two senior members of the royal family – King Charles and the Princess of Wales – who Meghan said spoke of their “concerns” about the color of the woman’s skin. her son Archie while she was pregnant.
Meghan first made her accusations about the conversation in her television interview with Oprah Winfrey in March 2021.
Harry and Meghan issued a statement saying it was not the late queen or her husband Prince Philip, but declined to name the royals who made the comments.
Scobie’s book marks the first time they are named.
And despite the author’s denials, his British agent sent a draft manuscript of Endgame naming the two ‘royal racists’, to be translated into Dutch, it is claimed.
The revelation reveals Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s “cheerleader-in-chief” saying he “never submitted a book that had those names in it.”
A source said that The Times United Talent Agency had previously sent a draft version of the book to publisher Xander Uitgevers, which included the names.
However, a final proof of the 400-page tome was later sent, but it is clear that the translator had been working from an earlier version.
Buckingham Palace is considering whether to take legal action after King Charles and the Princess of Wales were named as the senior royals who allegedly made comments about Archie’s skin color before he was born.