Meghan’s day Down Under
THE Duchess of Sussex showed her baby bump for the first time yesterday – telling well-wishers: ‘We’re excited to join the club!’
Meghan, 37, could not hide her happiness as she and Prince Harry began their official visit to Australia the day after revealing they will become parents next spring.
The duchess wowed the crowds on their first full day of engagements in a dress that revealed the merest hint of a bump.
The close-fitting, elegant £1,000 cream shift dress was by Australian designer Karen Gee.
Meghan teamed it with cream suede high-heels and also wore earrings and a gold bracelet that had belonged to Harry’s mother Diana, Princess of Wales.
Hours after the couple broke the news that they are expecting their first child next spring, the duchess said she was ‘so happy’ and excited to become a mother at long last.
Harry, 34, and Meghan have made no secret of their desire to start a family and like any couple embarking on parenthood were clearly eager for advice.
During a reception at the Governor-General’s residence in Sydney, she cooed over nine- week- old Luna, the daughter of singer-songwriter Missy Higgins and her partner Dan Lee.
‘She’s so sweet, so cute. Look at her,’ said Meghan, who by then had changed into a £1,385 khaki shirt dress by Brandon Maxwell.
She told the 35-year- old musician, who also has a son aged three: ‘You look incredible.’
The new mum had one piece of advice for her about motherhood: ‘Cherish each moment because it goes by so fast. It really does.’
Earlier the royals enjoyed a close encounter with mothers and babies of a different kind.
On a visit to Taronga Zoo, Harry and Meghan followed the example set by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge four years ago by meeting some koalas.
They were invited to stroke two of the marsupials, named Harry and Meghan in honour of the royal wedding in May. ‘So, so sweet,’ said the duchess. The couple were given a stuffed toy koala in celebration of their baby announcement, with Meghan saying she would ‘put it in the nursery’.
Harry and Meghan then made their way by boat to the Sydney Opera House, where they watched a dance performance and undertook their first public walkabout.
The duchess swapped her heels for sensible flat pumps for the trip. The £100 maritime blue pointed ballet shoes by Rothy’s of Los Angeles are marketed as ‘vegan’.
Each pair is made from used plastic water bottles. Meghan popped her heels on again at the end of the journey. Harry and Meghan had started the day at Admiralty House, residence of Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove, the Queen’s representative in Australia. They met the flag bearers of the 17 nations taking part in Harry’s Invictus Games for injured service personnel, which opens this weekend.
The couple immediately spied a large cuddly kangaroo with a joey – baby – in its pouch.
They laughed, Meghan, exclaiming: ‘That’s so cute, our first baby gift!’ ‘And this is your second,’ said Sir Peter, as his wife handed the prince a pair of baby Ugg boots.
‘These are awesome,’ said Harry, with an expression on his face as if the prospect of being a father was just beginning to sink in.