Meghan joins the firm: Prince Harry's fiancee will undertake her first public engagement with the Queen this month at annual Commonwealth Service in Westminster Abbey
- Meghan Markle will undertake her first public engagement with the Queen
- The 36-year-old will join the monarch for the annual Commonwealth Service
- It will be her first public duty as a member of the wider royal family
Meghan Markle will undertake her first public engagement with the Queen this month, Buckingham Palace have announced.
Prince Harry’s fiancée will join the monarch for the annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on March 12th.
Although the 36-year-old actress, who will walk down the aisle with the Queen’s grandson on May 19, joined her for Christmas at Sandringham, it will be the first time she has accompanied her on an official engagement.
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge attended the first annual Royal Foundation Forum held at Aviva on February 28 in London (pictured)
Meghan Markle (pictured left with Prince Harry and right with the Duchess of Cambridge) will undertake her first public engagement with the Queen this month
Indeed, it will be her first public duty as a member of the wider royal family as service – which will also feature singer Liam Payne - will be attended by other royals including her future in-laws, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall, as well as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
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The Duchess of Cambridge did not attend the same event shortly before her April 2011 wedding.
Indeed, Kate chose not to undertake an official engagement with the sovereign until after she and Prince William married.
Prince Harry ’s fiancée will join the monarch (pictured) for the annual Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on March 12th
Pictured at last year's Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey with the Duke of Edinburgh, the Queen, who is head of the Commonwealth, takes a keen and very personal interest in anything to do with the ‘family of nations’
The Queen, who is head of the Commonwealth, takes a keen and very personal interest in anything to do with the ‘family of nations’.
Both Harry and Meghan made clear earlier this week when they appeared at a public engagement together that they are looking forward to developing their public role with the Commonwealth.
In a statement Buckingham Palace said: ‘Her Majesty The Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, accompanied by The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle, The Duke of York, The Princess Royal, The Countess of Wessex, The Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Alexandra will attend the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey on Commonwealth Day, Monday 12th March.
Although the 36-year-old actress joined the Queen (left) for Christmas at Sandringham, along with Prince Harry (pictured together right), it will be the first time she has accompanied her on an official engagement
Meghan Markle made history after the Queen took the unprecedented step of inviting her to spend Christmas at Sandringham before she marries Prince Harry
‘Highlights of the Service include a special musical performance by artist Liam Payne and a reflection by Dr Andrew Bastawrous, an eye surgeon who turned a smartphone into an examination tool which works to combat avoidable blindness in developing counties.
‘The Service will be broadcast live on BBC One and across BBC World Service, in celebration of Her Majesty's lifetime commitment to the Commonwealth. ‘
Later in the evening, The Prince of Wales, The Duchess of Cornwall and The Duke of Cambridge will be guests of the Commonwealth Secretary-General at the Reception which traditionally takes place on Commonwealth Day at Marlborough House, the home of the Commonwealth Secretariat.
The Duchess of Cambridge’s first public outing
The Duchess of Cambridge is now well practised at making official appearances.
In fact, the dutiful Duchess has had her busiest start to the year to date as she attended 38 engagements - despite being weeks from giving birth.
Kate has completed more than three times as many engagements so far this year compared to the same period last year, when she completed 11 engagements.
But how will Meghan Markle's first official outing compare to that of Kate's?
On February 24 2011, a young Kate (pictured) wore a dazzling smile as she launched herself on the royal stage with the kind of confidence few might have expected from someone so new to public duty
On February 24 2011, a young Kate wore a dazzling smile as she launched herself on the royal stage with the kind of confidence few might have expected from someone so new to public duty.
She certainly brought lightness to a somewhat sombre ceremony – the dedication of an RNLI inshore lifeboat, the Hereford Endeavour, in Anglesey.
It wasn’t exactly an event on the scale of a royal wedding, and as walkabouts go, probably not too testing either.
Even the boat she launched alongside Prince William was a humble inflatable – hardly the Ark Royal.
But for the future Duchess of Cambridge, it was a crucially important milestone in the life of a princess in waiting.
The Duchess of Cambridge launched a lifeboat in Anglesey alongside Prince William
Yet how will Meghan's first outing with the Queen compare?
The 36-year-old has already been introduced into the firm arguably earlier than Kate before being married.
Meghan made history when the Queen took the unprecedented step of inviting her to spend Christmas at Sandringham before she marries Prince Harry.
The star spent the festive period at Her Majesty's private estate in Norfolk even though Kate was only asked after she walked down the aisle with Prince William in 2011.
It represented something of a break with tradition, as Kate was not at Sandringham on Christmas Day in 2010, despite the fact her engagement to Prince William had been announced to the world a month before.
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