The royal tour continues with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex today arriving in Dubbo, about 300 km outside of Sydney. Their agenda includes a walkabout, a visit to the Royal Flying Doctor Service, a picnic at Victoria Park with members of the public and a stop by a girls’ school. I’ll get as much as I can up now, but may round out tomorrow as the day progresses – thank you, time zones.
For those of you playing catch up, there’s been a lot of royal news in the last 48 hours. Kensington Palace announced Meghan is pregnant and earlier this afternoon it was announced that the Duchess of Cambridge’s younger sister, Pippa, Matthews gave birth to a son yesterday. Layer that on top of a jam-packed tour and, yes, there have been four posts today alone(!)
If that isn’t enough, Princess Eugenie posted a candid shot from when her wedding portraits were being taken on Friday. This one features a laughing Princess Charlotte and a nice moment of camaraderie among the royal cousins.
Switching gears to today, Harry and Meghan were greeted by local children in Dubbo who lined up to greet the vising HRHs. A particularly excited young boy even snagged a hug from both.
Next up was a celebration of 90 years of Royal Flying Doctor.
This included unveiling a new aircraft:
And in case you were wondering whether Meghan is in fact Wonder Woman, apparently after wrapping up yesterday’s engagements, she went ahead and spent the evening baking banana bread in the Admiralty House kitchens, which she then presented at today’s picnic tea at Victoria Park. I mean, that’s just impressive.
And thank you, Emily Nash, for this video of Harry helping a dog jump over a fence, because why not?
They were given the opportunity to meet a local family, the Woodleys, on their cattle farm, Mountain View. They kindly gave the Sussexes a tutorial on some of their daily tasks, as well as shared their experience navigating the region’s recent drought.
From the Mirror:
The Duchess of Sussex is “running on adrenaline” as she undertakes her gruelling first major tour while pregnant, she has revealed. Meghan said she is feeling “pretty well so far”, despite “feeling a bit tired”.
But the royal couple are still planning to go ahead with all 76 engagements of the 16 day tour.
Visiting Mountain View farm to learn about the devastating Australian drought, the Duke and Duchess were hosted by the Woodley family, who have been farming there for five generations.
She is, without a doubt, taking to the business of modern monarchy like a pro:
The final item on the agenda was a visit to a local girls’ school that specifically offers opportunity for young women with Aboriginal heritage.
Now, let’s cover off on Meghan’s outfit, because I love it. The blazer, which is my favorite part, is by none other than Meghan’s good friend and tennis champ Serena Williams. The white blouse underneath is Maison Kitsune, while the jeans are by Australian brand Outland. The boots are J.Crew and her jewelry is Natalie Marie.
We haven’t seen a full-on casual look from Meghan in a while and this is definitely a more updated version of what we’ve seen from her in the past. Frankly, it nods to Kate’s “casual” uniform during more active, informal engagements, but with a twist that stays true to Meghan’s style. The jacket is longer and looser, while the blouse is not only loose, but untucked. It stays put together thanks to the streamlining of the dark jeans and boots, as well as her hair pulled back in a ponytail.
She looks comfortable, but still polished, and I love the shout out to her friend. A win in my book. And I missed this earlier, but there’s some meaning behind the Outland brand – great to see her supporting such an important cause:
With that, I’ll see you tomorrow. There’s still one more engagement left today, but I’m leaving this here for now. Harry and Meghan are off to Melbourne next, before returning to Sydney for more engagements and the opening of the 2018 Invictus Games. In the meantime, you can catch up on Day One here and here if you missed it.
One final note – I posted earlier about the fact that the Sussex baby won’t be a prince or princess until the Prince of Wales ascends the throne, or unless the Queen intervenes. Well, more and more commentators are weighing in that they think the Queen will do just that. Time will tell, but I’d say there’s a very solid chance we end up with an HRH Prince or Princess of Sussex come spring.