Duchess of Sussex makes surprise appearance at Fashion Awards

Meghan Markle
Royal family
Royal
Tuesday 11 December 2018 at 1:45am

Meghan at the ceremony Credit: picture and video courtesy of Oliver Popa/Life Unscripted

The Duchess of Sussex made a surprise appearance at the British Fashion Awards in London to present the designer of her wedding dress with a top award.

In a one-shoulder gown that showed off her growing baby bump, Meghan stunned as she announced Givenchy’s artistic director Clare Waight Keller as the Womenswear Designer of the Year.

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Naturally, the duchess wore a Givenchy gown for the occasion and paid tribute to Keller in a cameo at the event at the Royal Albert Hall on Monday night.

“I feel especially proud to announce tonight’s winner, who yes is a British designer leading on the global stage with vision and creativity, but also with incredible kindness,” she said.

“Which is why when I met her for the first time 11 months ago I knew we would be working very closely together.”

Waight Keller made history in 2017 when she became the first female artistic director at the French fashion house, founded in 1952.

When Meghan chose the Birmingham-born designer the duchess said she had admired her “timeless and elegant aesthetic”.

The pair collaborated to design the open-necklined dress, which had three-quarter-length sleeves to “add a note of refined modernity”.

In her acceptance speech, Waight Keller praised Meghan and thanked her for trusting her with the design of her world-famous wedding dress.

“This woman is so amazing,” she said.

“I got to know Meghan on such a personal level and to have someone like that trust you in an incredible moment in their life is something that is just the most unbelievable honour. I can’t thank you enough.”

Meghan, who was recently shortlisted for TIME magazines’s Person of the Year, cradled her bump on stage as Waight Keller spoke.

The pair left the stage together and the duchess, with her hair pulled back in a tight bun, put her arm around the designer.