Meghan Markle returned to her acting roots on Wednesday.
The Duchess of Sussex, 37, made her first public visit to the National Theatre in London – three weeks after it was announced she had adopted it as one of her initial four royal patronages.
The royal mom-to-be arrived in a monochrome look, pairing a blush blazer with a V-neck dress by Brandon Maxwell.
She even recycled her Aquazzura Matilde crisscross pumps, which she wore for her engagement photo call with Prince Harry in the Sunken Gardens of Kensington Palace in Nov. 2017. (Princess Eugenie is also a fan of the shoes!)
Meghan carried the Metropolitan Insignia clutch from Carolina Herrera, which she previously used at Trooping the Colour last summer.
The National Theatre is one of four patronages that she initially announced earlier this month – and this one was handed down to her by Queen Elizabeth, who had previously been the royal patron.
Robert Lacey, a consultant for the Netflix smash The Crown, told PEOPLE, “If Meghan is ever missing the excitement of acting, this will put her back in touch with show business in a very creative way. It is tailor-made for her, and she will throw herself into it.”
The Duchess of Sussex “is a strong believer in using the arts to bring people from different backgrounds and communities together, and this first official visit to The National Theatre will explore the work they do, as well as meeting some of the talented teams and apprentices working behind the scenes,” her office said in a statement.
The Duchess of Sussex began Wednesday’s visit by joining a workshop with members of the Pericles company, which was the National Theatre’s first Public Acts production – uniting people from the community in London with professional actors to create a new musical version of the Shakespeare play.
Meghan met 13-year-old Blessing who is passionate about inspiring others through storytelling. Her Public Acts experience as part of the cast of Pericles allowed her to “discover more about what she could do and gain more confidence.”
Meghan then met current and former apprentices who are working as technicians in various departments, including carpentry, metalwork and painting.
She also caught a performance inspired by the play War Horse by primary school children, who are working with the theater’s elementary school program.
The children then sat on the floor gathered around Meghan. Kensington Palace shared a sweet photo of one school boy with an ear-to-ear smile and his chin propped up by his hands gazing up at the royal, clearly starstruck – and perhaps a bit smitten!
Rufus Norris, director of the National Theatre, said the mom-to-be was very “encouraging” towards the children.
“We are completely delighted to have the Duchess as our patron and look forward enormously to working with her and to seeing her as often as she’s got time for,” said Norris.
The Duchess of Sussex, 37, made her first public visit to the National Theatre in London – three weeks after it was announced she had adopted it as one of her initial four royal patronages.
The royal mom-to-be arrived in a monochrome look, pairing a blush blazer with a V-neck dress by Brandon Maxwell.
She even recycled her Aquazzura Matilde crisscross pumps, which she wore for her engagement photo call with Prince Harry in the Sunken Gardens of Kensington Palace in Nov. 2017. (Princess Eugenie is also a fan of the shoes!)
Meghan carried the Metropolitan Insignia clutch from Carolina Herrera, which she previously used at Trooping the Colour last summer.
The National Theatre is one of four patronages that she initially announced earlier this month – and this one was handed down to her by Queen Elizabeth, who had previously been the royal patron.
Robert Lacey, a consultant for the Netflix smash The Crown, told PEOPLE, “If Meghan is ever missing the excitement of acting, this will put her back in touch with show business in a very creative way. It is tailor-made for her, and she will throw herself into it.”
The Duchess of Sussex “is a strong believer in using the arts to bring people from different backgrounds and communities together, and this first official visit to The National Theatre will explore the work they do, as well as meeting some of the talented teams and apprentices working behind the scenes,” her office said in a statement.
The Duchess of Sussex began Wednesday’s visit by joining a workshop with members of the Pericles company, which was the National Theatre’s first Public Acts production – uniting people from the community in London with professional actors to create a new musical version of the Shakespeare play.
Meghan met 13-year-old Blessing who is passionate about inspiring others through storytelling. Her Public Acts experience as part of the cast of Pericles allowed her to “discover more about what she could do and gain more confidence.”
Meghan then met current and former apprentices who are working as technicians in various departments, including carpentry, metalwork and painting.
She also caught a performance inspired by the play War Horse by primary school children, who are working with the theater’s elementary school program.
The children then sat on the floor gathered around Meghan. Kensington Palace shared a sweet photo of one school boy with an ear-to-ear smile and his chin propped up by his hands gazing up at the royal, clearly starstruck – and perhaps a bit smitten!
Rufus Norris, director of the National Theatre, said the mom-to-be was very “encouraging” towards the children.