Here's what Queen Elizabeth thought about Meghan Markle's outfits on the royal tour of Africa
Following a rocky year of feud reports and heavy media criticism, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry concluded their 10-day royal tour of Africa on Wednesday, their first as a family of three. And as if the intense scrutiny from the public and the rest of the world wasn't enough pressure for the new parents, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had yet another person to impress: the Queen of England.
According to reports, Her Majesty had been watching the royal tour "closely" and was "thrilled" with how it went due to the low key nature of the visit, which was packed with spontaneous hugs, dancing and clapping.
"What she likes, apparently, is the informality of this tour," said royal expert Neil Sean to Express. "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."
He continued, "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."
RELATED: Shop all of Meghan's royal tour looks
In addition to the informality of the visit, there was another essential that helped the tour play out successfully: Meghan's wardrobe. While the tour lacked official state receptions, and thus didn't call for a tiara and a gown, the duchess strived to keep the public's focus on the tour itself, including their various engagements and initiatives, and not on her wardrobe.
One of the ways Meghan ensured this was by dressing down with no flashy designers or outfits. Instead, Meghan and her team carefully selected casual looks, such as Madewell denim jackets, $100 Sam Edelman flats and many recycled outfits, as to not cause any backlash. Her entire royal tour wardrobe reportedly cost £4,000.
“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 Sam," explained a source to Vanity Fair, referring to Samantha Cohen, the duchess' private secretary who also helped Meghan with her wardrobe.
