Meghan Markle made her first public appearance since the birth of her son Archie, three days after Donald Trump was in the United Kingdom for a state visit.
The duchess of Sussex appeared with husband Prince Harry riding in a horse-drawn carriage during the annual Trooping the Colour parade, an event that is the official celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday.
The parade is regularly held in June on a day with good weather. The queen, whose actual birthday is April 21, is 93 years old.
Prince Harry and Markle were joined by their in-laws, Kate Middleton, the duchess of Cambridge, and Camilla, the duchess of Cornwall.
Baby Archie, who was born on May 6, did not appear with his parents at the parade. Though Markle is easing her way back into public life, her appearances will likely remain sparse until she is officially off maternity leave in October.
“The Duchess is still on maternity leave and will not be returning to full time work until the fall,” a source told Vanity Fair. “It was important to her to be at Trooping today out of respect to the Queen. She’s mirroring what the Duchess of Cambridge [Kate] did on her maternity leave. You’ll probably see her at a few engagements but she won’t be back to work properly until later in the year.”
Markle’s reentry into public life comes soon after the royal family hosted Trump on his first official visit to the United Kingdom. Markle, an American actress, was not present at any of the official ceremonies involving the president, leading some to speculate she was snubbing Trump. Trump traveled to Europe for the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
Ahead of his visit, Trump said he was unaware Markle was “nasty” in an interview with a U.K. tabloid in response to comments Markle made about Trump in 2016. Trump later said that he was referring to Markle’s comments, in which she called him “divisive” and “misogynistic,” and not to Markle herself.