The Duchess was in casual pieces for the first engagements on Day 3 of the royal visit to Morocco.
Meghan and Harry started the day at the Moroccan Federation of Royal Equestrian Sports. They were at the facility to learn about a program using equine therapy for children with special needs.
A quick video.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex continue their visit to Morocco at the Royal Equestrian Club in Rabat.
#RoyalVisitMorocco pic.twitter.com/OHvu9o4CS4— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) February 25, 2019
The couple met with staff who work at the Royal Equestrian Club and have seen the benefits of equine therapy for disabled children and those suffering from mental health issues.
In this video from Emily Andrews the duo meet Patrick Alerni, who works with autistic children.
#Harryandmeghan meet Patrick Alerini who brings autistic pupils from his school, Al Minbat in Rabat, for equine therapy. He says the horse riding is great for the kids as it calms them and makes them happy. #RoyalVisiteMorocco pic.twitter.com/t5VQrhDjrL
— Emily Andrews (@byEmilyAndrews) February 25, 2019
Meghan and Harry watched a riding demonstration and also saw a grooming session with children in the program.
From Stephanie Petit’s People’s article:
Louis Broski, the founder of of the Centre Social Kariat, set up the program about 16 years ago to carry out physical therapy for handicapped children.
“They were very gentle,” Broski says of the royal couple. “Meghan was very gentle towards our children. And Harry was interested in what we are doing.”
The Duke and Duchess then moved to the Villa des Ambassadors, an upscale hotel and event facility in Rabat. This video shows children greeting the couple and giving them gifts.
Thank you for a lovely visit to Villa des Ambassadors ????! #RoyalVisitMorocco. pic.twitter.com/XfDTOyO0gD
— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) February 25, 2019
They were at the facility to watch a cooking demonstration by renowned local chef Moha Fedal, as he showed children from underprivileged backgrounds how to make traditional Moroccan recipes.
And they were also able to taste the local dishes. (The look on Harry’s face here begs a caption contest.)
A video from Emily Nash of Hello!:
WATCH: Harry and Meghan sample Harira straight from the bowl. “We love this soup,” says Meghan. She later said: “You can taste the love in that dish”. #RoyalVisitMorocco pic.twitter.com/UJq0ObcQct
— Emily Nash (@emynash) February 25, 2019
More from The Daily Mail:
The children are cared for by three different charities, including Hadaf, an organisation which employs young people with Downs Syndrome, L’Association Musulmane de Bienfaisance and the Lalla Meriem Centre, founded by King Mohammed VI’s sister.
And this from the Evening Standard’s coverage with news about a recipe Meghan would have had a special interest in:
Under the guidance of Moha Fedal, one of Morocco’s foremost chefs, they made pancakes from a recipe in Together: Our Community, the Grenfell cookbook.
Meghan and the Chef swapped cookbooks. She gave the chef a copy of Together: Our Community Cookbook and the chef gave her Le Vrai Goût du Maroc, which translates to The True Taste of Morocco. In this tweet from ITV’s Chris Ship you can see how Meghan dedicated the chef’s book.
Meghan gave Chef Moha a copy of her #Together cookbook.
She wrote: “Chef Mohar. Wishing you continued success and congratulating you on your incredible work in engaging the community in cooking. All the best. Meghan”
He gave her his book ‘Le Vrai Goût du Maroc’#royalvisitmorocco pic.twitter.com/BYPq1W9GVx— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) February 25, 2019
In this video from Emily Nash you can see the chef also gave them personalized aprons.
Meghan and Chef Moha exchanging cookbooks earlier pic.twitter.com/jY2XAyPa11
— Richard Palmer (@RoyalReporter) February 25, 2019
Meghan, Harry and Chef Moha pose with students for a group picture.
Now for our look at what the Duchess was wearing for the morning’s engagements. She was in her J Crew Mechanic Jacket.
The piece is all cotton with a hidden hood, gathered waist, hidden front zipper and button closure, multiple button flap pockets and adjustable tabbed cuffs.
We believe Meghan is wearing a sweater by Equipment, the brand’s Lucien style. The sweater is made in a blend of wool/yak/acrylic. The crewneck style has ribbed trim at the neckline and a side zipper. The white/navy color combination is sold out; there is an ivory/black style available at Amazon ($288). Many thanks to Michelle of Perth’s Fashion for the ID on this piece.It hgas been confirmed this was the brand sweater worn today.
UPDATE: Meghan was wearing Rag and Bone maternity jeans. I think it is probably the Maternity Denim Skinny ($228) in the ‘coal’ colorway. Our thanks to Rebecca English of The Daily Mail for her work getting confirmation from the Palace on all of the brands worn today.
Meghan was wearing a pair of Stuart Weitzman booties, the brand’s Brooks Slouchy Suede style ($328).
The pull-on style has a rounded, almond toe and heel just a bit less than 4″. They are discounted to $239 at Saks, but only offered in very limited sizes. Our thanks to UFO No More for the boot ID.
Meghan wore her Ecksand Tresses Bar Stud Earrings in 18k recycled gold (CND $575, about $430 at today’s exchange rates).
Our WMW fashion recap from the WMW Instagram page.
Our next post covers the Duke and Duchess’s visit to a local market!
VIDEO:
This Royal Family Channel piece runs just a bit less than two minutes.
LINKAGE:
- The Standard’s story is here; a Daily Mail article is here; The Telegraph’s piece from Hannah Furness is here
- a Hello! piece is here; People‘s cooking story is here; PopSugar’s photo gallery from both events is here
Larissa says
I’m incredibly late to this post, but I felt I had to comment because I always find something to critique in Meghan’s looks, and this time I just had to commend her for her impeccable casual outfit. It’s not easy to find something with which to transition from stables to hotel, yet Meghan absolutely nailed it. The sweater looks comfy and not oversized like many of her not-so-maternity maternity looks have been, and the stripes are a nice change from her usual monochrome outfits. The jeans are dark enough as to still appear professional and the jacket gives a nice country feeling to the horse engagement. The boots are just gorgeous! And while I’m still not a fan of the centre part, the ponytail is less harsh than a tight bun and it’s not as distracting, in fact Meghan’s hair gives the whole look a bit of polish. I fear if it was down the whole ensemble would have been just a touch too casual. While I don’t have any fun food-tasting events planned myself, I think I’ll do my own version of this outfit for running errands later. 🙂
Thank you for posting the last video of Meghan and Harry trying everything – how heartwarming! I am super impressed Meghan was able to limit herself to small nibbles of all the dishes, while travelling my food self-control goes out the window and I’m much more like Harry, eating half the pancake in one bite 😉
Jessica says
She looks great–has definitely taken a tip or two from the DoC when it comes to horsey, outdoorsy dressing. But I like that she has made it her own with the open neck and the (very fabulous) high-heeled boots. The sleek ponytail and simple earrings were perfect for this look and this occasion.
Jackie says
What a lovely day. Horses, lots of sun, food and great people to share it with.
Meghan looked casual but appropriate and comfortable.
I think the Sussexes really enjoyed these events, especially the food.
Ellis says
I’ve always found it difficult to really assess the casual outfits that we see on royal tours, in large part because a “successful” look is likely going to be something that doesn’t really stand out (especially against a backdrop of bespoke Dior and Valentino). I imagine that these outfits are actually more difficult to put together than the more formal ones; if nothing else, they certainly incorporate more elements and require a greater degree of balance, and I think are expected to be more accessible than more formal ensembles.
With all that in mind, I think that this is Meghan’s best casual look to date. All of the elements of the outfit fit together nicely without looking overly polished, and worked well for both engagements. The sweater looks great despite not being a maternity piece, and I love the boots! This is just such a clean, classic look and Meghan pulls it off phenomenally here.
Brandi says
I feel like she borrowed this from Kate’s closet: striped top, skinny pants, casual olive jacket and boots. Its not a bad thing though, this is another example of casual and approachable done right in a cool comfortable way. It looked like a fun event today. Ive only rode or been around horses myself once and it was an experience I’ll never forget. Im sure those kids really enjoy it and find it soothing. And the food.. Id like to check out that cookbook. I cant remember, does anyone know if Meghan put any of her own recipes in it? Im sure shes got some good ones.
Maluhia says
“I feel like she borrowed this from Kate’s closet”
Not to compare the two women but only to use Kate’s years of doing royal engagements as a guide – one thing Kate often does with her casual looks is wear a collared shirt underneath her casual sweater with the collar popping out over the sweater neck. It’s such a small, subtle touch that almost goes unnoticed, but makes a dramatic affect in turning a possibly-too-casual outfit into being perfectly formally casual. Both of Meghan’s casual looks so far could have benefited from a tiny pop of a collar.
Katie says
I know I’m late to the conversation, but I totally agree. The first thing I thought when I saw this outfit was, “She’s wearing a repli-Kate!!!”
Bonnie says
The casual look of this outfit is fine…nothing special, but appropriate. The striped top is fitted but not overly snug. The boots are a tad fancy, for horse stables.
I’m sure Meghan enjoyed the food she sampled. I’ve been to Moroco twice and still remember the meals. A favourite was breakfast. The hotels always had the traditional Britsh/American breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausages etc. But I opted for a bowl of plain yogurt. To it you could add dried fruit, dates, figs, apricots that had been soaked in honey. Then a topping of almonds. Yummy!
Christina O. says
Meghan curated a horsey outfit that was appropriate, fun and versatile. Hard to go from stables to an upscale hotel, Villa des Ambassadors, but she did it in style!
So enjoy viewing Meghan and Harry interacting with each other. Very sweet how Meghan politely gives Harry the first bowl of soup in Emily Nash’s vid, considerate.
HDE says
The two things I don’t think Meghan gets nearly enough credit for are 1) Affordable and often ethically/locallly produced jewelry and 2) Rewearing items she has had for years, like the green jacket today. I actually think probably a lot more of then axesssories – shoes, etc. were purchased by her in her former life. I know she’s not the only one that does it, but it appears to be overlooked a lot.
That said, love her casual style as always.
Eva#2 says
Completely agree with HDE.
ElizaMo says
I think what I like about this outfit is that I don’t feel it hangs together particularly well and therefore seems more casual and accessible. The khaki jacket doesn’t strike me as an obvious companion to the stripy top and dark trousers, but nonetheless Meghan absolutely looks the part for visiting a stables.
An light all-cotton walking jacket like that can be hard to find, so often they have thicker linings added, I don’t wonder that she’s hung on to it for a few years. The gentle olive colour is lovely on her. I wonder if the neat ankle boots reference Hollywood-style cowboy boots, they are very smart and maybe a touch dressy for a stable yard, but fun nevertheless.
Meghan seems to be mastering the trick of removing a coat or jacket so a fresh batch of pictures ID a different engagement, especially with the eye-catching Breton stripes. Hard to tell if they’re in black or navy, but it hardly matters. It’s loose enough and long enough to make a comfortable maternity top and complements a low-key engagement. The pony tail and earrings work well in that context, and it’s wonderful that she seems to be keeping her hair out of her face more these days.
I see Elizabeth at Meghan’s Fashion has suggested an ID for the Breton top as Equipment Femme Women’s Lucian Crew Neck Side Zip Sweater.
Erin says
I’m jealous of Meghan about a lot of things, but top two have got to be those booties and her calligraphy!