Meghan Markle and the Queen Made Their First Royal Appearance Together—Sans Prince Harry
On Thursday, Meghan Markle got some serious one-on-one time in with her new royal grandmother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II. The pair traveled together on their much-hyped solo trip to Chester, England, via the royal train. As far as we know, this marks the first time the Duchess of Sussex and the Queen have spent a significant amount of time alone together, as well as the first official visit Markel has made without Prince Harry.
After their 205-mile train ride, the pair spent the day unveiling the Mersey Gateway Bridge, where they watched performances by local schoolchildren, and opening the Storyhouse theatre. Then, they headed to Chester’s town center to meet with the public before finally sitting down to lunch at the Chester Town Hall.
For her big day with the Queen, Meghan wore a cream Givenchy dress (the same designer who was behind her royal wedding gown) with a black belt. Unlike her look from Saturday’s Trooping the Colour, which she was criticized over for revealing her shoulders, Thursday’s dress was markedly more demure.
The Queen opted for one of her usual brightly colored suits, this time in lime green. While it looks very similar to the suit she wore to Markle and Prince Harry’s recent royal wedding, it has a slightly different collar and button pattern. Leave it to Queen Elizabeth to be able to pull off not one, but two lime green outfits in the course of one month.
While this may seem like just another day in the life for a newly minted royal, the trip is actually quite significant for Markle. For one, she was given the opportunity to ride on the royal train, which is usually reserved for more senior members of the royal family (Prince Harry hasn’t even gotten the honor yet!). And as Marie Claire points out, her sister-in-law Kate Middleton wasn’t invited on a solo visit with the Queen until almost a year after she married Prince William, while Markle is getting her shot at it within the first month.
Considering it looks like the pair had a lovely day together, it wouldn’t be surprising if outings featuring Markle and the Queen became a regular occurrence.
