Meghan Markle Wears Princess Diana’s Cartier Watch on a Hike with Friends

Meghan Markle smiling — (Image credit: Getty)

We saw Prince Harry in a very public setting this weekend—his father King Charles’ Coronation ceremony at Westminster Abbey in London—and we saw a glimpse of Meghan Markle, too, albeit in an entirely different setting: On a hike with friends in California yesterday, wearing none other than late mother-in-law Princess Diana’s Cartier watch. (How often do you hike in Cartier?)

People reports Meghan was on the hike with friends Markus Anderson and Heather Dorak near her home in Montecito. For the excursion she wore a hat and sunglasses and tied a jacket around her waist. Page Six reports she wore Victoria Beckham sunglasses, Diana’s Cartier watch, and a Bentley Skinner diamond tennis bracelet, which the King is believed to have given Diana.

Meghan was not in attendance at the Coronation this weekend, a decision royal biographer Omid Scobie said during an interview on ITV’s “This Morning” was made to “protect her peace.”

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“She is aware just how much of the spotlight goes on her when she sets even a foot near the story,” he said. “It’s portrayed as intentional. Should she come over and just stand next to her husband, the commentary and the narrative of the day would have been very different.”

And speaking of royal biographers, Harry’s Spare ghostwriter J.R. Moehringer opened up in The New Yorker about the experience of working with him on the bestselling book, and what he really thought of Meghan: After he visited their Montecito home and felt homesick without his family, “Meghan and Archie would visit me on their afternoon walks,” he wrote. “Meghan, knowing I was missing my family, was forever bringing trays of food and sweets.”

He also noted that Meghan sent him home with toys for his children as he departed California.

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Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.