RELAXED ROYALS
Royal pair open bridge and arts centre
The newest member of the Royal Family, the Duchess of Sussex, seemed to be getting on famously with the Queen during their first official engagement together. The pair smiled and chatted during a ceremony to open the new Mersey Gateway Bridge.
THERE WERE always bound to be nerves for the Duchess of Sussex, but with them came a genuine warmth between the Royal Family’s newest member and the Queen as they undertook their first official engagements together.
Thousands of people turned out to catch a glimpse of the newlywed as she accompanied the 92-year-old monarch for the first time without husband Harry on the engagements in Runcorn, Widnes and Chester yesterday.
Meghan, 36, was by her new grandmother-in-law’s side as she officially opened the Mersey Gateway bridge and the Storyhouse arts centre in Chester, where they also observed a silence for the first anniversary of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
The pair travelled up to the North-West of England on the Royal Train and arrived to cheers from flag-waving school children at a blustery Runcorn train station yesterday morning.
The American-born former actress, wearing a cream fitted knee-length dress by Givenchy, confirmed it was her first visit to the North as she was greeted by the Lord Lieutenant of Cheshire David Briggs and presented with a posy of flowers by five-year-old Abigail Grimes.
The Royals then took a short car journey to the Catalyst science museum in Widnes, where the Queen, wearing spring green coat by Stewart Parvin and matching hat by Rachel Trevor Morgan, unveiled a plaque to mark the opening of the £1.86bn bridge over the River Mersey.
The two appeared to share a joke together as they smiled while watching a performance by children from the Andrew Curphey Theatre Company.
Mr Curphey, 32, who met the Royals after the performance,
said: “The Queen said she thoroughly enjoyed it and it was lovely to see the history of the bridge on the videos. As Meghan walked away from me she turned back and said, ‘The children did great, by the way.’
“Meghan seemed really calm considering it was her first official engagement with the boss!”
Among the dignitaries who met the Royals in Widnes were
Grange Hill and Brookside creator Phil Redmond and his wife Alexis, the High Sheriff of Cheshire. Mr Redmond joked he should have asked Meghan if she wanted a part in his television soap opera Hollyoaks.
He said: “I didn’t ask her, but there’s still lunch yet. She’ll have to go through the audition process like everybody else.”
Mrs Redmond added: “It’s fantastic to have them here, and it’s a big day for Cheshire.”
The final engagement of the day was in Chester, where the Queen and Meghan were cheered by crowds who had been waiting hours for their arrival. In the day’s only sombre moment, they joined the rest of the country in holding a minute’s silence at noon for the Grenfell victims, following their arrival in the historic city.
They then visited the Storyhouse arts centre, where a smiling Meghan occasionally leaned over to make a comment to the Queen as they watched performances, including songs by a children’s choir.
The pair then met the crowds on Northgate Street as they walked to the town hall, where they had lunch as guests of Cheshire West and Chester Council.
It’s fantastic to have them here, and it’s a big day for Cheshire.
TV producer and screenwriter Phil Redmond.