Her life as a duchess
From outings with the Queen and charity polo matches to navigating endless palace protocols, the new Duchess of Sussex is learning the ups and downs of life as a Windsor
On her first overseas royal tour, Meghan smoothly sailed through her very own duchess decathlon. She aced her airport arrival in Dublin in a chic green Givenchy pencil skirt and top (in honour of her host country), met with Ireland’s prime minister and president, charmed children and sipped champagne at an elegant evening reception. “She was so engaged in the way she looked at people in the crowd,” says Mary Lord, a local who came to see Meghan and Prince Harry during their July 11 appearance. The new royal also found time to steal a few moments with her husband, enjoying an intimate lunch at Delahunt, a cosy eatery where they shared a half-pint of Guinness. “They were very friendly to the staff, and introduced themselves to everyone,” says owner Darren Free. The only slight stumble? Her attempts to walk the historic city’s cobblestone streets in
nearly 8cm high, $355 Sarah Flint black leather stilettos. Told she was doing well, she replied, “I’m trying!”
As she hits the 75-day mark of royal life since her May 19 wedding, the Duchess of Sussex, 36, has already proved her ability to navigate a series of daunting firsts. With each milestone, she has pulled off the complex choreography of royal protocol—under the scrutiny of a global spotlight. “She’s doing amazing,” says her close friend, actress Priyanka Chopra. “It’s so nice to see.”
She’s also clearly taking her cues from both her inner circle and her new family. At Wimbledon on July 14, “she very much let Kate take the lead,” says veteran royal photographer Mark Stewart. “There was no rivalry. It shows how well Meghan has adapted, as she is aware that Kate will be Queen one day and her position is different.”
Of course, stepping into an entirely new world—an ocean away from her home town of Los Angeles—has also brought a new set of challenges. The outspoken former actress, who includes a reference to being a feminist on her page on the official British monarchy website, landed in the headlines after a July 10 garden party at the British ambassador’s residence in Dublin, when Senator Catherine Noone tweeted that Meghan had said she was “pleased to see the result” of Ireland’s recent referendum to legalise abortion. (Royal family members typically steer clear of political discussions, and Noone subsequently deleted the tweet.) “That’s an example of her naïveté,” says Robert Lacey, royal biographer and historical consultant on TV hit The Crown. “Within the royal family they talk freely and everyone knows the rules. She’s learning the hard way that you can’t trust anyone outside the narrow circle.”
There have been other, more subtle moments of uncertainty. As she stood next to Queen Elizabeth, 92, in Chester on June 14, Meghan wrestled over who should get into their waiting Bentley first. “What is your preference?” she asked uncertainly. “You have to go through it in order to learn,” says royal biographer Ingrid Seward ( My Husband And I), who also notes that Meghan’s decision to wear her hair down on a blustery English day wouldn’t be done by a more experienced royal: “They are rather endearing mistakes.” Although she has quickly adapted to many of the minutiae of royal dos and don’ts, she “has found certain rules in the royal household difficult to understand, like the fact that the Queen prefers women in dresses or skirts rather than trouser suits, and is often asking Harry why things have to be done in a certain way,”
says a source. “I think she finds it a little frustrating at times, but this is her new life and she has to deal with it.” She has also raised a few eyebrows with the cost of her wardrobe, which has featured a number of designer pieces. (The total for her Ireland tour, which included four outfits in two days, was $36,000, a figure that largely comes out of Prince Charles’s funds.) “She has to rein in slightly,” says Dickie Arbiter, former spokesman for the Queen. “It’s a lot of money in 48 hours.”
Away from the cameras, Meghan and Harry have been retreating to their country home in the Cotswolds, 160km west of London. The newlyweds also are likely planning to move to the bigger Apartment 1 at Kensington Palace in advance of starting a family. In the midst of their Dublin visit, the couple shone during a playful interaction with 3-yearold Walter Kieran, who grabbed Meghan’s hair before she and Harry wagged a finger at him. And when an enthusiastic mum of five asked Harry if he’d like the same, Harry laughed, saying, “Too many!”
One child the couple appear to be smitten with is their new nephew, Prince Louis, whose July 16 christening was attended by the royal newlyweds. With each new experience, Meghan learns more—and prepares for what’s to come, including a tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand to coincide with
Harry’s Invictus Games for wounded warriors in October. “She’s very actionoriented,” says Suhani Jalota, founder of the Mumbai-based Myna Mahila Foundation, who first met Meghan last year and was a guest at the wedding. When she visited the foundation a few years ago, “She came in and learned everything from scratch, and then she backed that up with evidence that she knew and had researched.” She’s now applying that same focus to her massive new role. “She has changed her identity from an international television star to a newcomer and apprentice,” says Lacey, “and a very willing apprentice at that.”