Meghan Markle's first solo outing with the Queen compared to Kate Middleton's

She may only have become a part of the family less than a month ago, but she has already started undertaking her royal duties, including her first outing with the Queen.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, tied the knot with Prince Harry on May 19 in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Since then, she attended her first royal engagement at Prince Charles' birthday party, stepped out on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the Trooping the Color, and embarked on her first official outing with the Queen.

As reported by People, the new Duchess set off with Queen Elizabeth on the royal train to Cheshire, where they were scheduled to unveil a new bridge in Widnes, open the Storyhouse Theater, and share lunch at Chester Town Hall.

With Meghan's first outing with her new grandmother-in-law coming less than a month after her wedding, there are some distinct differences between her first royal outing with the monarch and her sister-in-law Catherine's.

Following her wedding to Prince William in April 2011, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, had to wait nearly a year before she was graced with an outing with Her Majesty.

On that occasion, the Duchess of Cambridge also traveled by train, to Leicester from Kings Cross St. Pancras Station on a part of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee tour of the United Kingdom in 2012.

The Queen and Catherine stopped along the way at Leicester Cathedral, and at De Montfort University where the new Duchess had to select a contest winner to design a shoe for her.

Source: Getty Images

Catherine chose a teal peplum suit with a pencil skirt and jacket designed by L.K. Bennett. She complemented it with a black pillbox hat by James Locke, and black suede pumps.

Meghan also chose a pencil skirt cut for her first outing, opting for an off-white Givenchy dress with a belted waist and a cape top that fell almost to her elbows. She also added a pair of black pumps to the outfit, but nixed the hat.

Both women wore their hair down, and carried a black clutch purse.

Catherine and Meghan were both unaccompanied by their husbands for their first outings with Queen Elizabeth.

Source: Getty Images

On both occasions, the Queen was seen chatting merrily and laughing with her granddaughters-in-law.

“They were chatting away,” says Lord Waheed Alli, chancellor of the university, told People at the time. “[Catherine] would ask me things and then tell the Queen.”

Similarly, Meghan and the Queen were seen smiling together and talking as they enjoyed a children's dance performance in Cheshire.

Share