Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Creative Anniversary Gifts

johannesburg, south africa october 02 meghan, duchess of sussex and prince harry, duke of sussex attend a reception to celebrate the uk and south africa’s important business and investment relationship at the high commissioner’s residence during their royal tour of south africa on october 02, 2019 in johannesburg, south africa photo by karwai tangwireimage

(Image credit: Karwai Tang)

published 22 May 2020

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry celebrated their second wedding anniversary on Tuesday (May 19).
Meghan reportedly designed Harry's card herself, according to Us Weekly, writing a "beautiful, sentimental" message inside, while Harry surprised Meghan with roses and a ring.
But the couple also swapped creative wedding gifts, People reports, based on an old tradition.

It's been two whole years (and three whole days) since Meghan Markle and Prince Harry tied the knot, and the couple marked the occasion with a low-key celebration in quarantine. They swapped romantic wedding gifts, according to Us Weekly: Meghan put her famous calligraphy skills to good use, designing her own card for Harry and writing a "beautiful, sentimental" message inside, while Harry gave Meghan roses and a ring. But the Sussexes also took part in an old tradition, People reports, getting creative with themed gifts for each other.

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Tradition—medieval tradition, according to The Knot—dictates that specific materials be given as gifts for each year of marriage. Paper's a traditional gift for first anniversaries, for instance, while year five is wood, year 10 is tin, and year 15 is crystal. Meghan and Harry are fans of the practice, an insider told People, commenting, "They love to do their own take on traditional wedding gifts." Last year, Meghan nailed the paper requirement: She "wrote out the wedding speech and had it framed for him," the source said.

Year two calls for cotton, and the Sussexes stuck to the theme, the insider said. The source didn't specify the exact gifts the couple exchanged, but commented, "Undoubtedly, it was a very creative and romantic gesture as all their gifts are to one another." Cute!

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Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.