Meghan Markle Wore a Flower-Adorned Sweater to Meet With Veterans at Camp Pendleton

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry don’t often do events, but the Duke and Duchess made a special exception ahead of Veterans Day this Saturday, November 11. The couple visited Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California on Wednesday to learn about a special mentoring program for children of military families, Operation Bigs. They met with veterans, active-duty service members, and their loved ones, per their organization Archewell.

“Founded in 2004, the program connects young people and families to mentors who can relate to the shared experiences and challenges faced by having a parent or parents in the military when they are on deployment and after they have returned,” Archewell shared on its site.

Both wore poppies, with Meghan in particular wearing a blue Carolina Herrera sweater adorned with the flower. She paired the top with a black midi skirt by Lafayette 148 New York, according to Hello!. She wore her dark, straight hair down.

This is Harry and Meghan’s first event together since World Mental Health Day on October 10, when the couple did a panel in New York City for the Archewell Foundation Parents’ Summit: Mental Wellness.

Meghan wore a white Altuzarra look then, paired with Aquazzura heels and Sarah Hendler earrings.

She spoke about her concerns for her and Harry’s children Archie, 4, and Lilibet, 2, growing up in the social media age. “Being a mom is the most important thing in my entire life… outside of course, being a wife to this one,” she said, looking over at Harry with a smile, per Hello!. “But I will say I feel fortunate that our children are at an age, again quite young, so this isn’t in our immediate future, but I also feel frightened by how it’s continuing to change, and this will be in front of us. They say being a parent, the days are long, but the years are short. So it worries me, but I’m also given a lot of hope and a lot of energy by the progress we’ve made in the past year.”

Senior News and Strategy Editor

Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.