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Inside Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s ‘Palace of Secrets’: New York’s Carlyle hotel, where Princess Diana once shared a lift with Michael Jackson and Steve Jobs

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stayed at The Carlyle during their visit to New York City – a hotel beloved by many other royals and celebrities.  Photos: Getty Images, Handout
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stayed at The Carlyle during their visit to New York City – a hotel beloved by many other royals and celebrities. Photos: Getty Images, Handout

  • So nicknamed for its privacy, the hotel has hosted royals like Prince William and Kate Middleton, US presidents, and celebrities from Roger Federer to Naomi Campbell
  • Met Gala and Tonys after-parties have spilled into its lounges and bars, and the historic Bemelmans Bar even inspired Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel

If lift walls could talk, they would have stories to tell about the Carlyle hotel. But you certainly wouldn’t hear them from staff.

The hotel that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle reportedly stayed in during their recent New York City visit, the hotel is nicknamed the “Palace of Secrets” for its high level of privacy.

Built in 1930 and located on the corner of Madison Avenue and 76th Street on the Upper East Side, the Carlyle Hotel has earned a reputation as a hideout for royalty, politicians and celebrities.

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The Carlyle Hotel in the Upper East Side of New York City. Photo: Google Maps
The Carlyle Hotel in the Upper East Side of New York City. Photo: Google Maps

Carlyle Hotel staff are famously close-lipped about what goes on inside the hotel walls, leading to The New York Times giving the 188-room hotel its famous nickname.

The Carlyle Hotel is nicknamed the “Palace of Secrets” for its privacy. Photo: Always at the Carlyle
The Carlyle Hotel is nicknamed the “Palace of Secrets” for its privacy. Photo: Always at the Carlyle

In 2018, a documentary called Always the Carlyle by Matthew Miele revealed never-before-shared stories of some of the hotel’s most distinguished guests, one of whom was Princess Diana.

Diana first visited New York City on a three-day solo tour in February 1989, a moment which appears in season four of The Crown.
Emma Corrin as Princess Diana outside the Carlyle Hotel in season four of The Crown. Photo: Netflix
Emma Corrin as Princess Diana outside the Carlyle Hotel in season four of The Crown. Photo: Netflix

As her marriage to Prince Charles dissolved leading up to their divorce in 1996, she took more solo trips to the city, often staying at the Carlyle.