On Wednesday, 25th April 2018, Meghan and Harry attended the annual Service of Commemoration and Thanksgiving at Westminster Abbey in London.
This was the couple’s second service of the day. Hours before, the couple attended the Dawn Service at Wellington Arch in central London.
Both services marked Anzac Day, which honours the members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who’ve served and died in wars, conflicts, and peacekeeping operations.
Anzac Day falls on the anniversary of the landing of allied forces on the Gallipoli Peninsula, which took place on the 25th April 1915. The landings led to one of the bloodiest battles in the First World War. On this day, the Australian and New Zealand Forces joined together for the first time, forming the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, or ANZAC.
The couple were joined by Prince William, who attended the service despite having a two-day-old baby at home.
Westminster Abbey’s service included music from a Sydney-based cathedral choir and a flag procession.
The two Royals and bride-to-be Meghan joined in with hymns during the service.
The New Zealand, Australian and Turkish High Commissioners gave readings during the service and the Dean of Westminster gave The Address, speaking of the gallantry of the troops and comradeship. Wreaths were laid at the Grave of the Unknown Warrior.
The Royal party exiting the Abbey after the service:
You can watch highlights from the service here:
Meghan’s outfit:
Meghan wore a bespoke skirt suit from New Zealand born designer, Emilia Wickstead.
Wickstead, who is now based in London, appears to have based the separates on styles from her spring 2014 collection, the Kristie top and the Christian skirt:
Of course, the colour is different. Meghan opted for a subdued black for the commemorative service. Meghan’s bespoke version of the skirt is also less voluminous.
According to Net-A-Porter.com, the skirt and top were constructed from a matelassé fabric. Matelassé is a weaving or stitching technique that give textiles a quilted appearance.
Vogue magazine described the skirt suit as a having a “retro silhouette” with a “cropped, boxy jacket” and a “below-the-knee skirt [that] had an elegant ’60s vibe.”
[T]he look was reminiscent of the fashionable American First Lady Jackie Kennedy overall.This latest turn demonstrates Markle’s growing sense of ease and confidence with her fashion choices for royal engagements. The demure suiting came with just the right directional touch thanks to its textural feel. — Vogue.
Meghan accessorised with a hat by Irish milliner, Philip Treacy. The simple black beret-style hat features a dragonfly motif. It looks like it’s a modified version of this hat.
Here’s how our friends over at Replicate Royalty describe the hat:
[The] Philip Treacy OC 467 hat [is a] small black parasisal tilted beret. This hat is modified with the large buntal scroll and flowers removed and replaced with a small embellished and beaded dragonfly.
You’ll note this Philip Treacy hat also includes dragonflies.
Meghan’s black and gold clutch bag is by Jimmy Choo. It’s the company’s J Box Clutch.
On their website, the company describes the bag as follows:
Cleverly crafted to fit naturally into your hand, this compact design has space for all your essentials.
Unfortunately, I cannot find the black/gold style carried by Meghan online (it must be from a previous season) but, a number of other options are available for purchase: glittered canvas fabric, red suede, nude crystal and black Elaphe snakeskin.
It looks like Meghan finished her outfit with a pair Manolo Blahnik BB heels in black suede.
Meghan owns these shoes in blue too. (Below, Meghan wearing the blue BB pumps to the Commonwealth service in March 2018).
Meghan added a subtle amount of sparkle to her outfit with a pair of Cartier Galanterie earrings.
The 18ct white gold earrings are set with a large brilliant-cut diamond (available in a number of different carats) and are pavéd with additional brilliant-cut diamonds around the edge.
Shout outs to Perth-based fashion stylist and blogger Michelle, Charlotte from Mad About Meghan and the Susans at What Meghan Wore for helping me with identifying Meghan’s clothing.
