Meghan Markle’s ‘tourdrobe’ analysed

As the Duke and Duchess of Sussex tour the South Pacific, there’s the small matter of maternity style to factor in

As if packing for a two-week visit to Australia, Tonga, Fiji and New Zealand — due to be jammed with 76 engagements that could demand up to 35 outfit changes — wasn’t tricky enough, one can only imagine the tailspin Team Meghan would have been sent into when they heard that their tourdrobe efforts would also need to accommodate the Duchess of Sussex’s bump.

Since the tour has begun, diplomatic dressing — a crucial genre in any royal tourdrobe — has already been ticked off the to-do list with a white, tiny-bump-accentuating shift dress by Australian designer Karen Gee. The dress’s name, the Blessed, also managed to encompass a sweet message for Meghan’s first post-baby announcement photo call. She accessorised with butterfly earrings and a blue stone bangle that once belonged to Princess Diana and at one point swapped her heels for flats — so relatable.

“It’s a fun process, like girlfriends when they get dressed to go out.” JESSICA MULRONEY | Meghan’s stylist

One mastermind behind the Duchess’s tour fashion will have been Toronto-based stylist Jessica Mulroney, one of her best friends, who has flown out to join the royal couple “informally”. Although the pair got to know each other while Meghan was working on Suits, Mulroney was already privy to what it takes to dress for the world stage, having styled Canadian PM’s wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau. “It’s a fun process, like girlfriends when they get dressed to go out. I do the research and speak to a lot of the designers,” she has previously said of their working relationship.

It is thought that Natasha Archer, the Duchess of Cambridge’s stylist, has been providing backup assistance in the UK but, with the possibility of measurements changing at short notice as Meghan enters her second trimester, a tailor will be on hand for lastminute adjustments.

Looking after the Duchess’s hair is celebrity stylist George Northwood, who did Meghan’s up-do for her evening wedding reception.

Photos by AP and AFP

Photos by Rex Features, AP, AFP and Reuters Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, joins a local surfing community group, known as OneWave, who raise awareness for mental health and wellbeing, at Bondi Beach. She wore a dress by Martin Grant.