Meghan Markle Wears White For Her First Official Appearance with the Queen

Josh Duboff
Updated

In what is her most prominent official appearance since her engagement to Prince Harry,Meghan Markle donned a white fascinator and made her way to Westminster Abbey, for her first-ever event also attended by the Queen. The other senior royals—including Harry, Prince Charles,Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge—also attended the Commonwealth Day service.

Markle wore a cream coat for the occasion, and a black dress (both designed by Amanda Wakeley, who is no doubt having a very busy morning fielding congratulatory texts). Markle’s hat is designed by Stephen Jones. Kate, meanwhile, went for a dark Beulah dress and coat. (Her hat, a less traditional style and not her usual, is by Lock & Co.) Markle acknowledged photographers as she entered Westminster Abbey, as Ghanaian drummers played upon their arrival. During the event itself, Liam Payne, formerly of One Direction, will be performing. (Yes, this does mean the Queen will be listening to a Liam Payne song today.)

The Queen will deliver a Commonwealth Day message at the service, where she will discuss the way in which people from different backgrounds and nations came can together and bond: “Through exchanging ideas, and seeing life from other perspectives, we grow in understanding and work more collaboratively towards a common future,” her statements include. “There is a very special value in the insights we gain through the Commonwealth connection; shared inheritances help us overcome difference so that diversity is a cause for celebration rather than division.”

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Meghan Markle in London.
Meghan Markle in London. “She has the ability to be smart and sharp but without losing her sweetness,” says Suits creator Aaron Korsh.
Photograph by Peter Lindbergh. Styled by Jessica Diehl.
Meghan Markle wears a turtleneck by Salvatore Ferragamo.
“I’ve never defined myself by my relationship,” says Markle, who adds that she and Prince Harry were “quietly dating for about six months before it became news.”
Photograph by Peter Lindbergh. Styled by Jessica Diehl.
<cite class="credit">Photograph by Peter Lindbergh. Styled by Jessica Diehl.</cite>
Photograph by Peter Lindbergh. Styled by Jessica Diehl.
<cite class="credit">Photograph by Peter Lindbergh. Styled by Jessica Diehl.</cite>
Photograph by Peter Lindbergh. Styled by Jessica Diehl.
<cite class="credit">Photograph by Peter Lindbergh. Styled by Jessica Diehl.</cite>
Photograph by Peter Lindbergh. Styled by Jessica Diehl.
Meghan Markle wears a shirt and pants by Giorgio Armani; shoes by Jimmy Choo.
“The people who are close to me anchor me in knowing who I am,” Markle says. “The rest is noise.”
Photograph by Peter Lindbergh. Styled by Jessica Diehl.
Markle wears a coat by Max Mara and dress by Gabriela Hearst.
“It’s just wonderful to see her so in love,” says actress Abigail Spencer, a close friend.
Photograph by Peter Lindbergh. Styled by Jessica Diehl.
<cite class="credit">Photograph by Peter Lindbergh. Styled by Jessica Diehl.</cite>
Photograph by Peter Lindbergh. Styled by Jessica Diehl.