Everything about today pales in light of this: Cruachan IV has returned. Long-time readers may well remember this Shetland pony’s foray into the limelight last summer when he entered into a feud with none other than Queen Elizabeth herself, first by trying to eat a bouquet of flowers out of her hands and then by neighing at her a few days later, prompting a sharp retort of, “We know where you are.” I adore Cruachan and am thrilled he’s returned, particularly since he earned an Honorable Mention in last year’s BRF review.
As Pony Major Mark Wilkinson said: “They were asking about him saying he’s a wee star, he knows he’s on parade and is showing off – they said it was lovely to meet him.” Cruachan is absolutely a “wee star.” Would that more of us were.
Imagine my delight, then, when I discovered just today that Cruachan has his own Twitter feed: @CplCruachan_IV. My day = made.
But I suppose most of you are more interested in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who were in Edinburgh today as yet another chapter in Meghan’s engagement tour around the UK. As we saw in Cardiff, and really any and every time Meghan makes a planned public appearance, there were multitudes of cheering crowds to greet the couple outside of Edinburgh Castle. It’s being reported that the future royal bride continues to introduce herself with, “Hi, I’m Meghan,” which remains adorable.
Meghan garnered herself a backup proposal from a young man, who gave her a bouquet of roses and said, “Don’t marry Harry, marry me.” Bold, to the point – I like it.
In yet another moment, the two were presented with a homemade Valentine decorated with, “Princess Meghan and Prince Harry.” And so with that I’ll this moment to chime in for those a bit confused about Meghan’s status after her marriage: Yes, she will be a princess. She won’t be “Princess Meghan” because she wasn’t born a princess, but if no other title is bestowed on Harry when they marry, her name will be HRH Princess Henry. Likely, Harry will be given a dukedom like William did when he married, thus the couple will become the Duke and Duchess of [TBD]. In this case, however, the Valentine came from a child and regardless, I have no problem with the informal adoption of “Princess Meghan” or “Princess Kate.”
Inside the Castle, Harry and Meghan observed the firing of the One O’clock Gun, a tradition dating back to the 19th century.
From there, they took in views of the city and briefly visited with cadets, before moving on to the next location. The only thing that’s a shame about that is we didn’t get a glimpse of the Castle’s lovely interior as we did when they were in Cardiff.
Anyway, the next step was at Edinburgh City Centre to meet with Social Bite, a social business and enterprise café. The organization is set up throughout Scotland and distributes food and hot drinks to the homeless while their staff have their own experiences of homelessness. Harry found it impressive enough that he noted it should be implemented throughout the UK.
Per the Daily Mail:
“Harry and Meghan spoke with the organisation’s volunteers, customers and also staff who have been affected by homelessness. When speaking to volunteers Liz Cann and Alice Smith as well as customer George Whyte, Harry went on to talk about his love of food’s ability to bring people together. He said: ‘Meals are supposed to be an opportunity to bring people together, time to share, time to give and time to have a conversation.’”
Finally, the couple ended up at the Palace of Holyroodhouse for a reception to mark Scotland’s Year of Young People 2018. One guest in attendance, a 28-year-old graduate student from Mexico, was quoted as saying: “Seeing the couple is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We don’t have these visits in Mexico or my hometown of Monterey. They are also the hot couple of the moment because of their marriage coming up. I also think Meghan is a role model, she’s not just a pretty face. I think she’s going to change the face of the monarchy.”
Now, for fashion: Meghan once again opted for what is becoming a bit of a winter uniform – trousers, a long wrap coat and a handbag. Today’s coat was fittingly tartan, and this blue and green number came from the very British brand of Burberry, which Meghan has featured before. Her handbag is Strathberry, while her trousers are Veronica Beard. The sailor-style white button detailing was a fun surprise when Meghan removed her coat inside – this isn’t personally my favorite cut, but if anyone can pull it off it’s Ms. Markle.
Finally, she recycled her black Wolford turtleneck (her first royal recycle? Big day.).
Last but not least, I wanted to share that it came out yesterday Meghan has made several private visits to victims of the Grenfell Tower fire. The efforts are part of her ongoing introduction to the UK charity sector, and certainly staying involved in those rehabilitation endeavors is a continued priority for the Royal Family. It’s a good insider look into some of the behind-the-scenes work that members of the RF undertake outside of traditional public engagements.
On that note, there’s nothing else on the calendar for Harry and Meghan as of right now, but presumably something will be soon enough. In the meantime, we’ll see the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on Sunday for the BAFTAs – more on that here.