Meghan Hits Her Stride

Rainy England is a distant memory as an emboldened Meghan embraces her shiny new Californian life

- Nici De Wet

A Seeming lifetime ago Meghan was braving the miserable English weather, doing her bit on a rigid roster of royal duties.

She smiled and waved when she needed to, she went on official visits. She pulled on her big-girl stockings, dropped her hemlines, and pinned tiny hats to her glossy head. She navigated her way around a maze of palaces and castles while kings and queens of centuries past glowered from towering portraits in hallowed halls.

Teatime was cucumber sandwiches and cream scones, Sunday lunch was roast meat with three veg and home was a renovated “cottage” in the grounds of Windsor Castle – a house she and her husband were pilloried for after spending millions renovating it to their taste.

But, oh, how times have changed. It’s hard to believe it’s been only 10 months since Meghan and Harry announced they were leaving the royal family to become free agents, unshackled from royal chains.

Meghan (39), for one, has done a complete 360 from the woman she was as a working royal, obeying the rules prescribed by a protocol she found dull and stifling.

Today the former actress is back in her homeland, basking in the sunshine and embracing a life of philanthropic ideals. She has her prince at her side, her son at her feet – and her mojo is back with a bang.

STYLE WITH SOUL

The duchess is likely to have breathed a sigh of relief when she left the UK and closed the door on a wardrobe of sensible neutrals, conservative hemlines, and for­ gettable pumps.

The palace was even blamed for “beigeifying” Meghan at the beginning of her royal life, stripping her of colour and flair in a bid to make her more conformist.