It’s been eight years and ten months since Harry and Meghan visited Nottingham on their first official outing as an engaged couple.
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Harry → visit → couple
Today they were back on walkabout, though a lot has changed in the intervening years – not least their appearance.
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lot → change → years
Back in 2017, Meghan Markle wore a Mackage tightly tailored navy double breasted coat over a black turtle neck body suit, with a beige midi skirt and Kurt Geiger black overknee boots.
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Markle → wear → skirt
Memorably, she carried one of Strathberry’s £595 midi tote handbags, which instantly sold out, putting the Edinburgh brand on the map and establishing the Meghan Effect from the word go.
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which → carry → word
Both she and Harry (he wore a cashmere scarf knotted in the neck of his overcoat) were dressed smartly, safely and exactly as you would expect a royal-couple-in-waiting to dress.
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couple → wear → waiting
Today Meghan was wearing her hair in a tightly scraped back fashion ponytail and her outfit was a £3,386 textbook lesson in fashionable tonal dressing, right down to her £650 Jennifer Chamandi rich brown high-heeled Lorenzo 105 pumps.
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outfit → wear → pumps
The Duchess showed her support for British fashion in a Joseph coat and jumper and a £26 belt from M&S
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Duchess → show → M&S
On Meghan's first visit to Nottingham, almost nine years ago, she looked smart but safe - and also put Strathberry on the map
She wore a £1,495 mahogany coloured, single-breasted oversize doubleface cashmere Dona coat by Joseph, open over a £345 Joseph dark brown crew neck Yarra top, tucked into a £175 plum, split pencil Oliena skirt by The Fold.
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She → look → Fold
It was cinched with what looks like a £26 Triple Keeper belt by Marks & Spencer’s and paired with a £695 Joseph espresso mini Loaf woven leather bag – so British labels top to toe.
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what → cinch → toe
In the brief time that she was a working member of the royal family Meghan complained she was expected to wear tights under skirts.
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she → work → skirts
Today she was noticeably bare-legged in heels and fashionably understated in stealth wealth gradations of brown and wine looking every inch the Duchess with designs on fashion.
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she → look → fashion
Harry meanwhile looked less buttoned up (the weather allowed him to leave his coat and scarf at home), but, it has to be said, a good deal less smiley than he was in 2017.
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he → look → 2017
Meghan leaves her crown jewels at home!
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Meghan → leave → home
Duchess wears Princess Diana's watch and trendy fitness tracker but not her engagement ring on visit to Nottingham
Meghan Markle did not wear her engagement ring from Prince Harry for their first joint engagement since returning to the UK.
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Markle → wear → UK
Although the Duchess of Sussex, 45, has not been pictured wearing the ring in almost nine months, one may have expected her to bring the diamond sparkler out for today's royal-style outing in Nottingham.
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her → picture → Nottingham
Nottingham is the city where the couple carried out their first royal walkabout together after announcing their engagement in 2017.
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couple → carry → 2017
While Meghan, 45, wore a £1,500 cashmere coat and burgundy heels from London-based brand Jennifer Chamandi worth £650, she kept her accessories to a minimum - even leaving the £120,000 diamond sparkler that Harry proposed with at home.
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Harry → wear → home
The Duchess has not been seen wearing the jewel since February 2026, when she wore it to an NBA game in California.
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she → see → California
Instead, Meghan accessorised her autumnal outfit - including the burgundy coat from Joseph - with her wedding band and her bedazzled fitness tracker that she is now rarely seen without.
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she → accessorise → that
Meghan Markle did not wear her engagement ring from Prince Harry for their first joint engagement since returning to the UK.
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Markle → wear → UK
Meghan is rarely seen without Princess Diana's priceless Cartier Tank Francasie watch
Meghan accessorised her autumnal outfit - including the burgundy coat from Joseph - with her wedding band and her bedazzled fitness tracker
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Meghan → see → band
In addition to the Oura ring hidden inside a custom, diamond-encrusted gold 'sleeve' from Logan Hollowell, she wore a new, unidentified gold band on her right hand.
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she → hide → hand
She also sported Princess Diana's Cartier Tank Française watch, worth £17,800 ($24,020), which was gifted to her after she married the Duke of Sussex.
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she → sport → Sussex
Harry proposed to Meghan in 2017 – enlisting the late Queen Elizabeth II's regular jeweller, Cleave & Company, to design a unique jewel for his bride-to-be.
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Harry → propose → bride
The prince had even snuck a ring from Meghan's jewellery box so that the designers knew her size and, in a particularly touching tribute to his late mother, asked them to 'harvest' the diamonds from one of Diana's bracelets.
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designers → sneak → bracelets
Since the proposal in Nottingham Cottage, it is believed the ring has been altered four times.
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ring → believe → Cottage
At Trooping the Colour in June 2019, Meghan was spotted wearing the ring with a thinner band than its original design.
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Meghan → troop → design
She also had little diamonds set down the sides of the ring, worth around £126,000 ($150,000), in what jewellery expert Arabel Lebrusan suggested was a more American style.
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Lebrusan → have → ring
More than 100 people were waiting for the couple in the East Midlands this morning
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, gestures as she meets with people upon her arrival
Meghan kisses Irene Hardman, 90, who was there to greet them in 2017 and returned today with a framed photo from the day
Meghan bowed and clutched her hands to her chest after a warm reception
In his book Finding Freedom, royal expert Omid Scobie noted the decision to resize and reset the engagement ring with a new diamond band in 2019 was Harry's idea.
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decision → wait → 2019
In the biography, jeweller-to-the-stars Lorraine Schwartz reportedly said of the prince: 'He's the loveliest person ever.
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He → say → prince
The authors continued: '(So much so that Harry also thought to have Lorraine resize and reset Meghan's engagement ring with a new diamond band.)'
In 2022, there was further speculation that Meghan altered the ring for a second time when she attended the Invictus Games in The Hague, and it appeared that she had added additional diamonds to the setting surrounding the central diamond.
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she → continue → diamond
The ring was notably absent during several of Meghan's appearances in 2023, when a loose stone was reportedly being repaired – in what some believed was a third alteration.
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some → repair → 2023
In 2025, eagle-eyed royal fans noted that the ring's central diamond looked more like an emerald cut than the original cushion cut when it was seen in a trailer for Meghan's since-axed Netflix series.
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it → note → series
A crowd of 100 fans gathered to greet Harry and Meghan during their first joint public appearance since returning to the UK.
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crowd → gather → UK
The Duchess accepted bouquets and balloons from well-wishers as she told them 'it's great to be back' ahead of a series of royal-style engagements in Nottingham today.
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it → accept → Nottingham
Harry repeatedly placed a protective arm around her as they posed for selfies and chatted with members of the public during a royal-style walkabout, their first official public appearance together in the UK since the Queen's funeral in 2022.
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they → place → 2022
The couple also posed for selfies with well-wishers, with Harry putting a protective arm around his wife on several occasions.
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Harry → pose → occasions
At one point, Meghan appeared to show someone in the crowd her jewellery.
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Meghan → appear → jewellery
The Duchess beamed as she shook hands and took selfies with fans, including one boy who asked if she lived in a mansion and another who wanted to know whether she had a Bentley.
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she → beam → Bentley
Today's engagements came after the Sussexes were described as 'private citizens' by the King, who is in Wales with the Queen for an official engagement today.
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who → come → engagement
…and 36 more, not listed.
The Aporia
