Meghan Markle isn’t exactly unfamiliar with making a fashion statement—for anyone in the immediate royal family, it comes with the job. That said, she still managed to surprise us overnight by stepping out in a striking all-red ensemble which was frankly impossible to to look away from.
Markle and Prince Harry attended the opening ceremony of the One Young World Conference in Manchester, England on Monday, the first of several appearances they’ll make in the UK over the coming days. For the occasion, Markle wore a chic red monochrome pant suit which featured wide-legged trousers and a high-neck shirt with scarf detailing.
She finished the look with chunky gold hoop earrings and wore her hair slicked back into a ponytail.
Markle stepped up to the podium during the ceremony to discuss her involvement with the One Young World Summit and encouraged young people in attendance to embrace their capacity to make change.
“You are the future. But I would like to add that you are also the present. You are the ones driving the positive and necessary change needed across the globe now in this very moment. And for that I’m so grateful to be in your company today,” she said.
Markle added that it was “very nice” to be back in the UK—she and Harry last visited back in June for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.
The Sussexes last attended the One Young World summit back in 2019, shortly before they decided to step back from their roles as senior working royals, though the Duchess has been associated with the organisation for much longer.
Speaking about her first appearance at the summit back in 2014 (long before she met Prince Harry, and while she was best known for her role as Rachel on Suits), Markle said she was “overwhelmed” by the opportunity.
“At that dinner there were about 20 to 30 of us, the counsellors. And there I was, I was the girl from Suits,” she said.
“And I was surrounded by world leaders, humanitarians, prime ministers and activists that I had such a deep and long-standing respect and admiration for. And I was invited to pull up a seat at the table. I was so overwhelmed by this experience. I think I even saved my little paper place card that said my name on it… Because the truth was I wasn’t sure that I belonged. I was so nervous… But One Young World saw in me what I wanted to see fully in myself. They saw in me, just as I see in you, the present and the future.”
She added that her life had changed “rather significantly” since then.
Next on their agenda, the royal couple will travel to Düsseldorf for a pre-Invictus Games ceremony—an event founded by Prince Harry. The pair will return to London on Thursday where they’ll make an appearance at the WellChild Awards.