Meghan Markle Receives First Official Royal Gift Ahead Of Wedding To Prince Harry

With just four months to go until Meghan Markle and Prince Harry say 'I do', it appears the 36-year-old former actress is already receiving gifts from well-wishers.

This week, the royal family released its list of gifts they received over the last 12 months.

And while Prince George and Princess Charlotte received toy trains and lollipops, while the Duchess of Cambridge bagged several news dresses and handbags, the bride-to-be picked up something that every household has in its kitchen.

The Telegraph reports that Markle made her debut on the annual list of gifts, with an apron. The present was presented to the Duke of Cambridge during his solo visit to Finland in November, to pass on by a member of the public.

The gift list notes the present was from an 'individual' and was received by the Duke 'on behalf of HRH Prince Henry of Wales and Ms Meghan Markle'.

While the choice of gift might seem rather bizarre (and a wee bit sexist, we might add), an apron for the Suits star kind of makes sense following the revelation Prince Harry proposed to his fiancée while cooking roast chicken for dinner.

'There is nothing as delicious (or as impressive) as a perfectly roasted chicken,' she told Good Housekeeping last year. 'It's a game changer. I bring that to dinner parties and make a lot of friends.'

Prince Harry's list of gifts includes his'n'hers accessories for the couple, presented by a wellwisher and 'two jackets, two leather holdall bags, two leather belt-bags, two leather zipped pouches, two leather passport holders, four leather wristbands, two ice hockey pucks, two baseball caps, two t-shirts and two sports polo shirts'.

It sounds like Harry might have won when it came to gifting last year.

Meanwhile, the Queen reportedly received glittery baubles for her Christmas tree, a purple fleece dog bed for her corgis and and the Union Flag from Major Tim Peake's spacesuit.

She was also given copies of love letters between Queen Victoria's granddaughter Princess Victoria Eugenie of Battenburg and King Alfonso XIII of Spain between 1905-6 from the Spanish Royal Family.

Official gifts can be worn, eaten and used, but are not considered the personal property of the Royal recipient. Any gift valued less than £150 can also be passed on to charity or staff.

Anyone else fancy applying for a job at the Palace this year?

We must admit, we wouldn't mind having one of Kate's hand-me-downs.

Katie O'Malley

Site Director

Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.