Meghan Markle wore a crisp white coat at her first public appearance as Prince Harry’s fiancée.
The couple posed for their first official photo call as an engaged couple, hours after announcing Harry had proposed to the ‘Suits’ actress earlier this month.
Both looked visibly nervous, as they posed for photos in the grounds of Kensington Palace – the couple will soon make their home in Nottingham Cottage, a building on the palace’s grounds.
There is speculation that Markle’s white coat may have been a nod to the name of the garden in which they posed.
Previously known as the Sunken Garden, the area was renamed the White Garden in honour of Princess Diana earlier this year.
Markle’s belted coat is sure to spark a flurry of interest, similar to the rush on Issa wrap dresses prompted by the announcement of Prince William and Kate Middleton’s engagement in November 2010.
The soon-to-be Duchess of Cambridge wore a £399 navy-blue wrap dress by Issa, which sold out within hours of the announcement.
Kate’s choice perfectly matched the tone of her engagement ring – an oval sapphire surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds set in 18-carat white gold.
The ring had previously belonged to William’s mother Princess Diana and he “carried it around” in a rucksack, while on a vacation in Kenya with Kate that October until he worked up the courage to give it to her.
Much like the Issa dress, it has spawned countless imitations.
But the original was reported to have cost £28,000 at the time it was bought in 1981, when Diana chose it from the inventory of jeweller’s the House of Garrard.
The design was inspired by a sapphire and diamond brooch, presented to Queen Victoria by Prince Albert in 1840, on the day before their wedding.
Just a few weeks later, fans also stocked up on the £159 cream Reiss dress Kate chose to wear in her engagement photographs shot by Mario Testino.
Testino reminisced about that session with the royal couple during an interview with The Telegraph in 2014.
He had first met Kate in 2008, but he could tell that Will was “in love” and he “knew they would stay together.” Naturally, Testino worked his magic when the time came to shoot them as an engaged couple two years later:
“I waited a long time, an hour or two, to make that picture perfect. But I wasn’t totally satisfied,” he explained.
“Then, when I’d finished the shoot, they were about to leave and they suddenly hugged in front of a radiator. I took my camera and that was the picture that ran everywhere — it was spontaneous emotion… you could see they were completely in love.”