Meghan a natural at working the crowds, say royal fans

The Duchess of Sussex was hailed as “a natural” by adoring fans as crowds praised how much time she and her husband spent with members of the public on their Sussex tour.

The couple were greeted by dignitaries and public figures at each visit but they turned most of their attention to the hordes of schoolchildren who turned out to see them, and the youngsters they met at Peacehaven youth centre.

They walked to meet crowds in Chichester and Brighton and made an impromptu dash to the barriers to meet crowds in Peacehaven at the end of the day.

Ellie Penfold shook Meghan’s hand in Chichester. She said: “She looked very pleased to see everyone and very natural.”

Kim Martin said: “They were very friendly and they spent so much time with the public.”

The couple were presented with numerous gifts from flowers to an A to Z of Sussex made by school children.

Meghan said “That’s very cool” as she thanked the youngsters from Westbourne House School in Chichester for the gift.

One such fan Honor Pennant, 10, of Hampshire, said she loved Meghan so much she named her Light Sussex chicken after her. She was eager to tell her about her pet.

The duchess was not fazed by her busy day of engagements.

Getting involved with a real-life game of snakes and ladders, Meghan looked unperturbed when she tripped slightly, catching her shoe on the edge of the mat depicting the giant game.

She also did not give a second thought to walking across soft grass in high stilettos in order to meet children standing behind barriers.

The duchess appeared to dab her eyes on several occasions during the day, showing how touched she was at the warm welcome from rows of people.

When speaking to youngsters in the youth centre, Meghan reached out to touch the arm of Emma Garrood, a 16-year-old East Sussex Youth Cabinet member, to tell her how “impressive” it was that she could remember so many statistics about mental health concerns among young people in the county.

Emma said: “She was really sweet and lovely. We were a bit worried about meeting royalty but she got so involved in everything.”