Meghan Markle pays tribute to Princess Diana during first official appearance after maternity leave

Publish Date: Friday, 13 September 2019, 2:19PM

Meghan Markle has resumed her official royal duties, carrying out her first solo engagement in London since giving birth to baby Archie in May.

After going on maternity leave for six months on 19 March, the Duchess of Sussex stepped out to launch her clothing collaboration with charity Smart Works, called The Smart Set, on the rooftop of John Lewis.

The new mum opted for a classic and clean look as she went back to work, wearing two pieces from her own collection – the £125 Misha Nonoo white shirt and the £120 black Jigsaw trousers.

She paired her look with a tan belt by Ralph Lauren and Jimmy Choo suede tan heels.

As she modelled the pieces from her new clothing collection, she chose an incredibly meaningful accessory to complement them ...

The Duchess wore a beautiful pair of butterfly earrings that belonged to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.

Diana previously wore the earrings during a trip to Canada on May 3, 1986 — a year after she gave birth to Prince Harry.

The jewellery added a sentimental touch to her ensemble.

Royal expert Katie Nicholl said: "Diana used to love to wear these earrings."

"[It] might be that it brings her a little bit of luck, or perhaps she feels that they're her lucky earrings, but they really see to the outfit very beautiful, and very elegant on her."

The new mum and Prince Harry have a busy schedule this month.

They are set to go on the Royal Tour of Africa with their son, Archie, at the end of September.

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