The Duchess of Sussex has completed her first official engagement as a member of the Royal Family.
Earlier this afternoon, Meghan and Harry joined the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall at a garden party in honour of Prince Charles’s upcoming 70th birthday.
Although Meghan had accompanied her now-husband on engagements around the UK earlier this winter and into the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings in April, this marked her first engagement as the Duchess of Sussex.
The couple postponed their honeymoon specially for this garden party, with Kensington Palace noting earlier this month that they would leave for their honeymoon afterwards at an unspecified date and time.
Meghan wore a blush pink Goat dress and a hat by Philip Tracey, a favourite milliner to the women in the Royal Family.
Prince Harry gave a speech at the beginning of the garden party, saying that “Pa, while I know that you’ve asked that today not be about you, you must forgive me if I don’t listen to you – much like when I was younger – and instead, I ask everyone here to say a huge thank you to you, for your incredible work over nearly 50 years.”
Prince Harry continued to laud praises on his father, saying that he and William owe a lot of their inspiration to him.
“It has certainly inspired William and I to get involved in issues we care passionately about and to do whatever we can to make a difference. In fact, many of the issues William and I now work on are subjects we were introduced to by our father growing up.”
Clarence House announced earlier this month that over 6,000 representatives from 386 of Prince Charles’s patronages would be in attendance today, and that there would be representation from 20 of his military affiliations. Members of the police, fire and ambulance, mountain rescue, RNLI, and Youth United cadets also attended.
“Collectively The Prince of Wales’s charities raised more than £120 million annually to support The Prince of Wales’s charitable work in the UK and overseas,” Clarence House noted.
“The Prince of Wales is also Patron or President of over 420 charities. The oldest patronage being the Bath Preservation Trust, which The Prince has been Patron of since 1973.”
With respect to his military affiliations, Clarence House noted that, “Over the years The Prince has since gained affiliations with twenty Army Regiments and Formations, three Naval appointments, and three Air Force relationships. These links are with organizations from both the UK Armed Services and a number of Commonwealth Countries.”
Prince Harry mentioned his father’s dedication to charity work, stating that “It really is amazing to see so many of you here today for this family celebration. I say ‘family’ because this is a chance for us to honour The Prince of Wales’s work over the last forty plus years, with all of his charities, patronages and military associations – and, as you all know, my father views all of your organisations like an extended family.”
Prince Charles celebrates his 70th birthday on 14 November, and more events marking the occasion are expected to be announced in due course.
