Author

Mary

The Sussexes, who were last seen in public at a charity polo match last week won’t be back on duty until September. They are on the guest list for a society wedding this weekend and will be in Balmoral next month to spend time with the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh. Meghan is also said to be keen to go back to Los Angeles to see her mother before September. But in between seeing family and friends, the couple will mostly be based at their country cottage, a remote hideaway in the Cotswolds where they now spend most of their time away from the media spotlight.

And it seems that’s what they both might need. For it’s not just this summer’s searing London temperatures that Harry and Meghan want to escape. (There is no air-conditioning in their three-bedroom home in Kensington Palace.) According to friends they are keen to take a break from the public eye.

“They spend a lot of time in the Cotswolds, more than people realize. They are in the country way more than they are in London and they are enjoying a low-key and very domesticated start to married life,” says one of their friends. “Harry’s not around that much anymore. Meghan likes him to keep his diary clear at the weekends so they can be together in the countryside.”

The couple love the area and are currently renting a farmhouse cottage on the Great Tew Estate, which according to locals is patrolled by armed security and surrounded by cameras.

“It’s very clear they want to be private and left alone,” says one local. “The property is in the middle of woodland and you wouldn’t know it was there. It is very remote which is why they like it. It’s like a fortress. There’s a huge security presence, you can’t get close.”

It seems that’s precisely how the royal couple wants it. After the scale of the royal wedding, which was covered by international media outlets and news broadcasters from around the world, Harry and Meghan are keen for a break from the limelight.

Harry particularly is said to be uncomfortable with the level of interest in their lives. At the Sentebale Polo Cup in Windsor last week, the couple were so keen not to be photographed at a lunch ahead of the match that a screen separating them from the adjacent media pen was erected.

“It was quite clear that they didn’t want the press anywhere near them,” says one photographer who asked not to be named. “They were photographed on the red carpet and at the end of the match, but they wanted to be left alone the rest of the time even though this was a major charity event for Harry with a big international press presence.”

When Harry did come face-to-face with the media, he sent the ball hurtling into the press pen and it nearly struck one of the many security officers patrolling the grounds. Harry apologized, joking he wanted to give the photographers a good shot, but it rubbed some photographers the wrong way. Those close to Harry, who issued an unprecedented missive to the press when he was dating Meghan pleading for them to be left alone, say he is determined to protect Meghan from too much exposure in the media.

“He worries there is too much hysteria around Meghan and he wants to row back a bit,” reveals a source.

According to the Daily Express’s royal correspondent Richard Palmer, Meghan, a former actress and a pro when it comes to working the red carpet, is becoming increasingly inaccessible.

“Royal rota journalists are being kept further away from [Meghan] than we were before the wedding That means we can’t hear what she is saying. If you can’t get direct quotes from members of the royal family that often makes for dull stories. You go up afterwards and ask what she said.”

With all the drama over the situation of Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle, perhaps boring is rather appealing to the Sussexes. The couple have urged friends not to speak to the media, and Harry has clamped down on his friendship groups and urged Meghan to do the same.

“They both expect a code of silence. If you talk to the press you’re out,” says the source. “Harry didn’t used to care that much about what was written (in the press), he just said it was a load of shite, but he’s very protective of Meghan and defensive these days.”

According to royal editor Camilla Tominey, the continuing controversy over Meghan’s father has put a huge strain on the couple while the memory of Diana is never far from Harry’s thoughts: “Harry has certainly built an emotional fortress around himself and Meghan. They have both been extremely upset by Thomas Markle’s behavior and that of Meghan’s half sister, Samantha, and other relatives speaking out to the press. “If the royals value one quality in others more than anything else then it is loyalty, and the couple will feel very let down by what’s happened.”

“The princes are both very private people and have tried their best to keep the press at bay ever since their mother’s death,” she continued. “They are extremely protective of their wives and families and will do anything to avoid a repeat of the 80s and 90s when they felt that Princess Diana was hounded.”

Source: https://www.vanityfair.com/

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle will step out for the first time together without their husbands, Prince William and Prince Harry, on Saturday. And they chose the perfect event for the occasion — the Ladies’ Single Final at the Wimbledon Championships.

Before the match, Meghan and Kate will meet with former female tennis champions and chat with ball girls and boys to learn more about what it’s like to participate in the iconic tournament. Then, they will take their seats in the royal box to cheer on the players, Angelique Kerber and Serena Williams, (a close friend of Meghan’s.

Meghan and Kate have attended several public events together since Meghan became engaged to Harry. The first was when Meghan joined the whole family for a Christmas Day service in 2017, and shortly after were the Fab Four’s first appearance at the Royal Foundation Forum in February and Commonwealth Day celebrations in March.

Since the royal wedding, there has also been Trooping the Colour, where Meghan and Kate waved together from the Buckingham Palace balcony, Prince Louis’s christening on Monday and the Royal Air Force centenary celebration on Tuesday of this week.
Kate and Meghan have supportive friendship, and Kate has helped show Meghan the ropes.

Last month, Meghan had another memorable outing with Queen Elizabeth, which marked the first solo joint appearance by the two royal women.

Meghan visibly charmed the Queen during their trip, which began with an overnight stay aboard the Royal Train. She also had the monarch smiling ear-to-ear at her Royal Ascot debut. Kate’s first engagement alone with the Queen wasn’t until April 2011, almost a year after her wedding.

Source: https://people.com/

Meghan’s somewhat-signature messy bun was nowhere to be seen; she wore her hair sleek and down, and also carried a clutch, both moves that may well have been cribbed from her sister-in-law Kate Middleton, who has been giving Meghan fashion advice since the spring.

Having spent the night together on the royal train, the Queen and the Duchess of Sussex pulled into Runcorn Station just after 10:30 am local time where they were met by a waiting car and driven to Mersey Gateway Bridge, a new six lane toll bridge over the River Mersey. Hundreds of people had queued for hours and cheered as the monarch and Meghan arrived at the bridge to meet architects, planners and community members. It is the first time Meghan has accompanied the Queen on a solo engagement, and Vanitiy Fair has learned that Meghan was personally invited by the Queen. Aides say that the away day is intended to show Meghan “the breadth of work the royal family carries out.”

The schedule has been carefully co-ordinated to reflect traditional elements of a royal day out along with a dash of culture which included music and performances. The Queen and the Duchess watched local school children perform a show called “Bringing Communities Together: Hatton’s River Crossings Over the Ages,” before the Queen unveiled a plaque to declare the bridge officially open.

From the bridge the royals headed to Storyhouse, a new theatre and library in the centre of Chester where they were given a tour of the building and observed a 72-second moment of silence in tribute to the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. On the way they stopped to watch a Syrian settlement group doing traditional craftwork and the second performance of the day, a dance by Fallen Angels, a local theatre group for recovering drug addicts. They then headed into the theatre to watch some set pieces from a production of A Little Night Music and see schoolchildren from local primary schools perform songs alongside actors from Swallows and Amazons. The Queen unveiled another plaque before making her way outside with Meghan to make the short walk to Chester Town Hall, where they were guests of honor for a lunch at Chester City Council.

Meghan’s first walkabout with the Queen was a great success. While Meghan was instructed to walk to the left of the crowds, the Queen greeted members of the public lined up on the right, accepting posies and chatting with royal fans. Keen not to dawdle, Meghan kept up a brisk pace as she shook hands and greeted people along the route. There were cheers for Her Majesty and Meghan as they made their way into the lunch.

The Queen seemed in an especially cheerful mood, smiling frequently, and spoke with Meghan often. In public engagements the Queen usually initiates conversation, but Meghan, who often turned to the Queen for a cue on what to do, seemed to need a bit of a guiding hand, and the Queen was more than happy to give it.

Today is the next step in a steep learning curve for Meghan, who has had a fast track introduction to royal duty since marrying into the royal family on May 19. She attended her first engagement, a garden party to honor the Prince of Wales, just three days after the royal wedding, and is expected to embark on a busy program of engagements now that the couple have returned from honeymoon.

Until now Meghan has always had Prince Harry by her side but today she was following in the Queen’s footsteps.

Source: https://www.vanityfair.com/

Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, will arrive in Chester Thursday morning alongside the Queen, and just weeks into her life as a royal will be at the Queen’s right-hand side for a busy day of engagements. The news that the Queen personally invited Meghan on the trip, her last away day before she heads to Balmoral for her annual summer break, is further proof of just how warmly the new Duchess of Sussex has been welcomed into the royal fold.

Sources close to the royal family said the Queen is keen to help mentor Meghan and ensure her transition from commoner to royal is as seamless as possible. “Lessons have been learned from the past and everyone is very keen that Meghan should feel included from the beginning,” a courtier said. “It feels like a team effort with many of the family making themselves available to help Meghan, and that includes the Queen.”

It is, added courtiers, all part of a master plan at the Palace that involves the Queen handing over more power and responsibilities to the younger royals she privately refers to as her “substitutes.” Kensington Palace announced last week that Prince Harry and Meghan will carry out their first overseas tour this fall, visiting Australia, Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga, and New Zealand.

According to Sally Bedell Smith, author of Elizabeth the Queen, the Queen is keen to establish the couple as ambassadors within the Commonwealth as quickly as possible. “The Queen got the ball rolling by giving Harry a specific role in the Commonwealth, where he is widely admired, and where Meghan is already really popular. The Commonwealth is such a vital part of her legacy. At the recent Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting she got the commitment that Charles would be the new head of the Commonwealth, and with Harry and Meghan, she can ensure that the British monarchy has a firm place in the next generation among the Commonwealth countries. The visit to Australia will help solidify that link.”

In other words, the Queen is helping to map out sharply defined roles for Meghan and Harry, and as she did with Kate, is bringing Meghan up to speed in a welcoming way. While Kate had to wait 10 months before she was invited on an away day with the Queen—a trip to Leicester—Meghan’s invitation from Buckingham Palace has come just weeks after the royal wedding.

“People are saying it’s very soon, but it’s really down to how the royal calendar has worked out,” insisted an aide. “The visit to Chester has been in the diary for some time, and it was seen as a brilliant opportunity for the duchess to join the Queen and to see the breadth of the work the royal family does.”

While Meghan carried out an impressive number of royal engagements in the run-up to the wedding, this is the most important. Refreshed from their recent honeymoon and apparently “ready to get down to some hard work,” Meghan won’t have Harry to show her the ropes tomorrow, and despite her natural confidence, she is likely to be nervous.

Sources close to the Queen insisted that the monarch will go out of her way to be warm and welcoming. “She has a way of being very inclusive while at the same time being a brilliant and formidable mentor. Meghan should count herself very lucky,” commented a royal source. The packed itinerary will include opening the Mersey Gateway Bridge and the Storyhouse theater and library in the center of town, as well as a royal walkabout and a formal sit-down lunch at Chester City Council. The Queen loves to meet the public, and while Meghan has already mastered the art of engaging with the crowds, she will observe firsthand how efficiently the Queen works the crowds in order to stick to their timetable.

Though Meghan has become famous for her relatively casual attire at royal engagements in the past, she is expected to make a special effort tomorrow. Her favored messy bun will likely be replaced by a more formal style, while wedges and bare legs will be a no-no. The Queen has an aversion to both.

And while Meghan broke with protocol, striding out ahead of Harry when she accompanied him on engagements ahead of their wedding, she will have been briefed to walk a step behind the monarch. If she’s unsure of anything, her new private secretary, Samantha Cohen, who used to work for the Queen and knows royal etiquette better than most, will be a whisper away. Meghan might benefit from one tip: if in doubt, talk about the weather. It’s a subject Her Majesty never tires of.

Source: https://www.vanityfair.com/