Meghan Markle’s sentimental outfit as she continues tour of Nigeria

Meghan Markle looked gorgeous in a white suit this afternoon as she visited the Defence headquarters in Abuja during her three-day tour of Nigeria with Prince Harry.

The Duchess of Sussex is thought to have sported her $1,595 Altuzarra Acacia White Blazer today, which she previously wore to the Invictus Games in Sydney in 2018. By then, Meghan was pregnant with the couple’s first child, Prince Archie, now five.

It’s not the first time today that the mother-of-two, 42, has seemingly paid tribute to some of the special milestones in her life.

This morning, Meghan put on a chic display as she bared her back in a sleeveless peach maxi dress from Californian designer Heidi Merrick, which is first thought to have been released in 2018, the year of Meghan’s royal wedding to Harry.

The backless silk gown – featuring a billowing skirt, dropped hemline and cinched waist and thought to have originally been priced at $572 -is also titled Windsor, which is the official name for Meghan’s royal in-laws.

For her latest outfit, Meghan teamed her elegant blazer with matching Altuzarra suit trousers and donned a white T-shirt underneath her jacket.

Adding a touch of glitz to her ensemble, the mother-of-two stunned in her AURate collar necklace and her wedding rings.

She also opted to wear her $62,000 Lorraine Schwartz pinky band, which has a contentious background; there have long been questions about the origin of the ring.

In 2021, Prince Harry and Meghan denied claims that the band was fashioned with diamonds gifted to the couple by a mystery donor in the Middle East – before clarifying that they were referring to a different ring.

They initially said the piece was sourced by a stylist on the shoot directly from the designer and that there was no link to a mystery donor in the Middle East.

But in a spectacular U-turn, they later rolled back the denial, and clarified that they were referring to a different ring.

There was no further mention made of the Lorraine Schwartz ring in question on her right hand, begging the question of whether Meghan has something to hide about the provenance of the diamond, which was first seen on her finger in October 2020.

If the diamonds did indeed come from the Middle East, it’s not clear if Meghan received the gift while she was still a working royal, or after she performed her final official duties in early March 2020.

She did not visit the region officially, but there’s always the possibility she made a private trip.

Buckingham Palace only publishes a list of gifts received by royals while on duty in the UK or overseas, and there is no public record of Meghan being given any diamonds.

Gifts sent to the royals outside of official engagements are recorded but not made public.

The palace previously directed inquiries about the diamonds back to the Sussexes’ representatives in the US.

Meghan complemented her outfit with a smattering of glamorous makeup, including a pink lip-gloss, plenty of blush and a smokey eyeshadow look. Her hair appeared equally glam, with the Duchess opting for soft curls.

Harry just looked as smart as his wife, sporting a stylish green suit and navy tie, with a white crisp shirt. 

Meanwhile, Meghan praised ‘smart’ Harry today as their 72-hour tour of Nigeria got underway, saying her husband was ‘so inspiring because he speaks the truth.’

The Duke of Sussex spoke to pupils about mental health, saying: ‘If you see your friend in your class not smiling, what are you going to do? Are you going to check in on them? Are you going to ask them if they’re OK? Because it’s OK not to be OK.’

Handing the microphone to the beaming Duchess in Abuja, she then added: ‘Do you see why I married him? He’s so smart. And so inspiring because he speaks the truth.’

The couple visited Wuse Lightway Academy which is supported by their Archewell Foundation, with Meghan encouraging pupils to ‘just be honest with each other’.

They visited the school about five hours after their arrival in Abuja – before heading onto the Nigerian Defence Headquarters for their next engagement from noon.

Meghan told the pupils: ‘As I look around this room, I see myself in all of you as well. So it is a complete honour to have our first visit to Nigeria, be here with all of you.

‘We believe in all of you, we believe in your futures, we believe in your ability to continue telling your stories and to just be honest with each other. There is no need to suffer in silence. Just make sure that you’re taking care of yourselves.’

Meghan also praised James Holt, the executive director of the Archewell Foundation who has joined them on the trip, for his work – adding that his ‘birthday is today’. 

Harry gave his own speech about mental health, evoking memories of his suffering after his mother Princess Diana‘s death when he referred to people who have ‘lost a loved one in your family and you don’t know who to turn to or who to speak to’.

The Duke – who was 12 and his brother William 15 when Diana died in Paris in 1997 – added that there was ‘no shame to be able to acknowledge that today is a bad day’. 

He also told the children: ‘You can have it, she (Meghan) can have it, I can have it. They can have it. Every single one of us is likely to have it on any given day.’ 

The Duke asked one child their age, and when they said they were five, he replied: ‘You’re five? Our son Archie is five.’ Meghan added: ‘That’s right, he turned five.’ She also said that Lilibet loved dancing, adding: ‘Maybe it’s all the jumping around.’

The Sussexes were greeted by a dancing troupe and a crowd of excited students and teachers. Student Nnenna Okorie said of Meghan: ‘She is the prettiest human being ever. I admire her so much and then Harry. I love how he is so supportive.’ 

At the Defence HQ, the couple spent an hour inside before emerging to cheers from and shaking hands with well-wishers amid chaotic scenes. An uncomfortable looking Harry quickly ushered Meghan into their car as onlookers almost overwhelmed them.

The couple arrived together in Abuja just before 5am following a secret reunion at Heathrow‘s VIP Windsor Suite yesterday after the Duchess arrived from Los Angeles.

They boarded the British Airways overnight flight to Abuja, which was slightly delayed after the scheduled pilot went sick and a replacement had to be scrambled.

The Sussexes, visiting Nigeria together for the first time, were seated in the first class section of the Boeing 777 and were kept apart from other passengers by a curtain.

Meghan revealed on her Spotify podcast Archetypes in 2022 that she found out she has Nigerian ancestry, describing herself as ’43 per cent Nigerian’. 

And yesterday, Harry said it was ‘great’ to be back in the UK this week to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games. The Duke had been in London since Tuesday to attend events relating to the competition including a thanksgiving service.

Harry and Meghan have a four-man security team with them for the tour, who have accompanied the Duke since he arrived in London. Nigeria has also provided protection including armed guards and bullet proof vehicles for the couple’s stay.