Up close and personal? As Meghan Markle shows off a sweet new sweatshirt embroidered with her children's names, how the royal family have taken to wearing ultra-sentimental pieces
The Duchess of Sussex, who is known to love customised fashion, wore a top embroidered with her children’s names for her latest Instagram video
Meghan Markle wore a top embroidered with her children's names for a recent Instagram video
Karwai Tang
When Meghan Markle posted a touching video on her Instagram page, thanking Billie Eilish for helping one young teenager devastated by the Altadena wildfire, it was not just her heartfelt gesture that caught fans' attention – but her sweetly personalised sweatshirt.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex made an unannounced visit to Altadena on 10 January, to volunteer alongside chef Jose Andres' World Central Kitchen. Filming yesterday from her home in Montecito, Meghan revealed that she had met a mother and daughter from the community, whose home had been left in ashes by the devastating fire. The 15-year-old was most upset to have lost a Billie Eilish t-shirt, picked up at the singer's recent tour. The Duchess told the pair that she didn't know Eilish personally, but promised: ‘I’m going to figure out how to get you this shirt.’ As she explains in the video, she contacted several of her friends, including singer Adam Levine and his wife, Behati Prinsloo, who managed to forward the request to Eilish.
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During the clip, Meghan looks shocked and gratified as she reveals that the Grammy Award-winning singer has sent over signed merchandise, including clothing, a lunchbox and a vinyl record, to be passed on to the teenage fan. ‘This is going to mean so much to her… just thank you, so much,’ she said during the recording, adding in the caption: ‘Let’s keep supporting those affected by the California wildfires. Thanks to everyone who made this possible.’
For the video, Meghan dressed down in blue jeans, gold jewellery and a black sweatshirt, which was embroidered at the neckline with the names of her children, Archie and Lili, in her own handwriting. And it's not the first time the Duchess has shown a preference for personalised fashion: she has been spotted out and about several times with a Christian Dior Lady D-Lite bag (the style made famous by her mother in law) embroidered with ‘DSSOS’, the initials of her royal title.
Meghan Markle carrying her personalised Dior bag at the Global Citizen concert in New York in 2021
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The Princess of Wales has plenty of personalised necklaces – this one, from All The Falling Stars, is hung with medallions engraved with the letters 'G, L, C' in honour of her children
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She's also been known to show her feelings through delicate jewellery, and was said to wear a necklace bearing the initials ‘H’ and ‘M’ as far back as December 2016. Three years later, she made a surprise appearance at Wimbledon sporting a chain hung with a tiny' ‘A’, in tribute to her first son, which was reportedly a present from Verse Fine Jewellery.
Nor is Meghan the only royal to favour a personalised piece – in fact, a sentimental outfit touch is practically royal tradition. The Princess of Wales has stepped out in the past wearing a touching necklace from All The Falling Stars, hung with medallions engraved with the letters 'G, L, C' in honour of her children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. Kate also owns two pieces from jewellery designer Daniella Draper: a pendant engraved with the initials of her children, and a chain featuring the same initials as drop charms. Adding to her sentimental jewellery collection is a necklace hung with a disc, engraved with Prince George’s full name – George Alexander Louis – and a necklace dedicated to her husband: a heart-shaped charm inscribed with the letter ‘W’.
The Duchess of Edinburgh often wears a cluster of charms on a fine chain, in a sweet nod to her family
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The Duchess of York wore a bold bangle emblazoned with the names of her children for Princess Eugenie's wedding in 2018
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The Duchess of Edinburgh is also fond of a necklace hung with initials, and has been seen wearing a fine chain with ‘E’, ‘L’ and ‘J’ charms – symbolising her husband, Edward, and her two children, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Earl of Wessex. The Duchess of York, meanwhile, is a fan of bolder styles and, for Princess Eugenie's wedding in 2018, she donned the ultimate mother-of-the-bride accessory: a chunky gold cuff, which spelt out ‘Eugenie’ and ‘Beatrice’ in eye-catching diamonds.
‘I know what it's like to feel voiceless,’ Meghan Markle once said, a pointed comment on the royal family's expectation of its members to remain impartial and refrain from expressing strong opinions. It's perhaps unsurprising, therefore, that she (along with Kate, Sophie and Fergie) has become a fan of semaphoring significant messages through fashion. And even today, when she has broken away from those royal constraints, she is partial to wearing her heart on her sleeve – or indeed, at her neck.