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The queen approved gift Meghan got on her wedding day

You know you’ve made it when you get your own royal Coat of Arms – and that’s exactly what has happened to Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex.

Kensington Palace revealed the newlywed’s official Coat of Arms, which she helped design with the College of Arms.

Working closely with the official heraldic authority for the UK, it was clear Meghan wanted her home state of California to be heavily present in the design.

Kensington Palace explained that the blue background of the shield represents the Pacific Ocean off the California coast, while the two golden rays across the shield are symbolic of the Sunshine State, California, where Meghan was born.

Meghan Markle gets her own royal Coat of Arms. [Photo: Getty]
Meghan Markle gets her own royal Coat of Arms. [Photo: Getty]

The three quills apparently represent “communication and the power of words.”

Meghan has been vocal in her beliefs in the past speaking at the U.N. Women’s conference in 2015, as a keen advocate for women.

In February, Meghan Markle took on her first official royal speaking engagement at the Royal Foundation Q&A.

In it, she said: “You’ll often hear people say, ‘you’re helping women find their voices’.

“I fundamentally disagree with that because women don’t need to find a voice: they have a voice. They need to feel empowered to use it and people need to be encouraged to listen.”

Meghan Markle with the Duchess of Cambridge at the Royal Foundation Q&A. [Photo: Getty]
Meghan Markle with the Duchess of Cambridge at the Royal Foundation Q&A. [Photo: Getty]

When she was 11, Meghan to Procter & Gamble and then-first lady Hillary Clinton about a sexist TV, which was then later successfully changed.

She’s also a keen writer (if her now-disable blog, The Tig, is anything to go by), writing on topics from feminism to philosophy.

Beneath the shield on the grass sits a collection of golden poppies, California’s state flower, and wintersweet, which grows at Kensington Palace.

The coat of arms represents both Meghan and Harry. Source: Getty
The coat of arms represents both Meghan and Harry. Source: Getty

Kensington Palace explain that for wives of members of the royal family, the ‘supporters’ of the shield, i.e the animals that hold it up on either side, must include once of their husbands ‘supporters’ and one of their own.

Meghan’s Coat of Arms includes Harry’s lion and her own: a songbird.

They explain the bird has its “wings elevated as if flying and an open beak, which with the quill represents the power of communication.”

The design was approved by The Queen before being signed off.

Interestingly, every member of the royal family gets a Coat of Arms designed, including wives of members.

The Coats of Arms of members of the Royal Family are broadly similar to The Queen’s with small differences to differentiate them.

We think the Coat of Arms is a lovely tribute to her home.

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