It's been a rocky year in the press for Meghan Markle. In the year-and-a-half since her marriage to Prince Harry was viewed by royal watchers across the globe, the British media has repeatedly and heavily criticized the newly crowned duchess. And while it's normal for the royal family to be scrutinized purely because of who they are, the fact that Markle is American, divorced, and bi-racial has made her an easy target. So it comes as no surprise that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's recent tour of Africa has been making headlines, especially since the couple opened up about their recent struggles in the documentary, Harry & Meghan: An African Journey. Fans and critics have been watching their every move - and so has Queen Elizabeth.
In fact, the queen reportedly sympathizes with the duchess's situation. Royal expert Neil Sean told Express:
"This tour has become a brilliant success. We are hearing Her Majesty The Queen is indeed thrilled with some positive PR."
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex - and baby Archie - embarked on the 10-day royal tour of Africa as a way to deepen the ties between the United Kingdom and Africa. The trip began on September 23rd in Cape Town, South Africa and concluded on October 2nd back in a township near Johannesburg.
During the trip, the couple met with many different organizations - both together, and on their own.
Prince Harry spent time at the Chobe Tree Reserve and planted trees. He also visited a project run by Sentebale, a charity he co-founded with Prince Seeiso. Meghan spent time with Mothers2mothers, a charity that employs women living with HIV as health workers for the community.
As Express reports, Markle's wardrobe choices were well-received - especially with Queen Elizabeth. The tour didn't require any formal attire because there were no official receptions scheduled. Also, the duchess wanted to keep the focus squarely on the work that she and Prince Harry were supporting.
To accomplish this, she kept all of her looks casual. She even recycled some of her previous outfits and opted for low-key brands like Madewell and Sam Edelman. The Daily Mail reports that just over £4,100 was spent on her wardrobe for the visit - approximately 5,257 dollars.
A royal source told Vanity Fair:
"I expect the queen will be pleased to see that Meghan has been taking a leaf out of her book, wearing outfits more than once and taking the advice of trusted aides like [Markle's private secretary Samantha Cohen]."
In an interview with Femail, etiquette expert William Hanson noted:
"It is understandable that Their Royal Highnesses want the press attention to focus on the issues and causes that they are there to champion rather than the more superficial aspects of royal life - as often happens on royal tours."
He goes on to say:
"There is also a larger amount of poverty in South Africa and so to arrive wearing expensive designers and high fashion may be somewhat jarring."
Queen Elizabeth also reportedly enjoyed the informality of the tour. Neil Sean told Express that,
"We've seen Meghan and Harry dancing, clapping, all that sort of stuff - it's not the sort of things the queen would necessarily do. But she does like the fact that members of her family do interact when they are on tour. This is what makes the royal tours a very big success. We still got more to go on the tour but, so far, everything has gone according to plan."
Getting Queen Elizabeth's seal of approval can't be easy, especially when it's about who's going to join the royal family. If you're going to produce an heir to the throne, you have to be royal family material. But Meghan Markle is said to be on good terms with Queen Elizabeth. In fact, according to the British tabloid Express, there are rumors that Queen Elizabeth might favor the new duchess over Princess Kate. We'd take that gossip with a grain of salt.
Still, we love hearing that Queen Elizabeth is making the Duchess of Sussex feel welcome, especially given how Meghan has been reacting to all the media scrutiny.
#QueenElizabeth #MeghanMarkle #PrinceHarry
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