Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle's First Solo Appearances with the Queen, Compared

• On Tuesday morning, Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton (opens in new tab) shared a special occasion with Queen Elizabeth II, as they accompanied one another on their first ever joint solo appearance.
  
  
• Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle marked her first engagement with the Queen back in June of 2018, with a visit to Chester together (opens in new tab) just a few months after the royal wedding.
  
  
• The sisters-in-law, who occasionally take fashion inspiration from each other’s styles, selected very different outfits for their debut solo visits with the Queen.

It’s a big day in the calendar for Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton who, after eight years of being a member of the royal family, has finally attended her first ever solo royal engagement alongside the Queen. Her Majesty and the Duchess (opens in new tab) visited King’s College London, where they reopened the newly renovated, Grade II listed Bush House. While they have attended numerous events alongside Prince William, Prince Philip, or other members of the family, it's the first visit for just the two of them to share together. Pretty cute, right?

Of course, with such a momentous occasion to plan ahead for, Kate had the perfect outfit waiting quietly in her wardrobe, and definitely did not disappoint on the fashion front. The Duchess selected a grey Catherine Walker coat, with a lovely fit and flare shape and a buckled waist. She teamed the bespoke piece with her new favorite Gianvito Rossi block heels, a black Mulberry clutch, and a fascinator hat for the finishing touch.

It was a demure outfit and a muted color palette for the Duchess, and she looked effortlessly chic—but it still couldn’t have been more different from the look that her sister-in-law, Duchess of Sussex Meghan Markle, selected for her own debut solo outing with the Queen. Back in June of 2018, just a few months after she married Prince Harry, Meghan joined Her Majesty on a solo appearance to Cheshire.

With the time of year being a little warmer and more summery, the Duchess of Sussex opted for a lighter look than Kate did today, wearing a stunning cream Givenchy dress with a high neckline and cape silhouette. She completed her elegant and chic outfit with a skinny black Givenchy belt, and a pair of tiny pearl earrings that belonged to the Queen herself.

For both occasions with her granddaughters-in-law, the Queen chose bright and bold shades to wear, selecting an equally fun bubblegum pink for her day with Kate, against the vivid lime green for the trip with Meghan last year. With that in mind, it’s likely that the Duchesses both cleverly opted for similar muted tones, so as not to attract attention from Her Majesty on their visits.

The outfits may be very different, but it looks as though both Duchesses had a wonderful, happy time on their visits with Her Majesty. I mean, a road trip with the actual Queen is pretty exciting.

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