On Friday, Meghan Markle was photographed at the Montecito Farmer’s Market close to the home she shares with her husband Prince Harry. While shopping, she was wearing a casual look of a white button down hanging open over a knee-length khaki maxi dress. She paired the outfit with black thong sandals and a pair of aviator sunglasses with gold rims.
The Duchess of Sussex was carrying a huge woven tote over one shoulder and had her hair back in a short ponytail. Eventually, she purchased a bouquet of fresh flowers and put them in her bag. Meghan was accompanied by her security guards and one of the family’s pet beagles, either Guy or Mamma Mia. In addition to the beagles, the royal family members also have a pet labrador named Pula.
The pups are rescues, and Meghan has been quite vocal about her support for adopting over shopping when it comes to pets. She was a patron of the Mayhew organization in 2019, which is dedicated to exactly that kind of work.
“As a long-time rescue dog owner, The Duchess of Sussex is proud to be Mayhew’s Patron and applauds them for the vital work that they do every day,” her team wrote in a post at the time, sharing some adorable photos of the Duchess greeting animals in need.
Harry and Meghan are now quite settled in their California neighborhood, and it was reported last month that they had officially vacated all their belongings from Frogmore Cottage in the UK, a Crown Estate property. It was initially left as a gift to the couple by the late Queen Elizabeth, and since 2019 they have reportedly spent £2.4m to refurbish and rent it on the Home Park Estate.
In 2020, the couple moved to the US to escape the constant media attention, hoping it would help with their quality of life and be a better environment for their kids, Archie and Lili.
Harry told James Corden on The Late Late Show that same year, “It was never walking away. It was stepping back rather than stepping down. It was a really difficult environment, as I think a lot of people saw….We all know what the British press can be like. And it was destroying my mental health. I was like… ‘this is toxic.’”
Aimée Lutkin is the weekend editor at ELLE.com. Her writing has appeared in Jezebel, Glamour, Marie Claire and more. Her first book, The Lonely Hunter, will be released by Dial Press in February 2022.