Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, made the best day ever for a 10-year old thespian from the Edith Neville Primary School.
The duchess watched a five-minute performance by the young thespians during her visit to London's National Theatre on Wednesday. After the performance, she met with the children, who sat around her in a circle. But one boy in particular looked at her as if she "hung the moon," as Cosmopolitan put it.
— —----Duchess Meghan loving her baby bump!! Baby Sussex center stage as it should be!!!! #MeghanMarkle pic.twitter.com/hP8KDx4eX3
— HarryMeghanInternetFamily (@MeghanFamily) 30 января 2019 г.
"I never expected that I would be seen by a person in the royal family," starstruck 10-year old Kroni Pacolli told Markle.
The duchess then came up to the boy and shook his hand, congratulating him on his good performance.
#MeghanMarkle met with children working with the @NationalTheatre's primary school program — and their reactions were TOO cute! 💕 pic.twitter.com/pDhWznIjfY
— InStyle (@InStyle) 30 января 2019 г.
"She came and shook my hand, and I'm never going to wash this hand again!" Pacolli said after the event.
"I thought maybe it was the Duke of Edinburgh or George Ezra. But then when they said it was a female VIP I thought, ‘Yes! Rita Ora!'" Pacolli said, referring to Prince Philip and two UK celebrity singers, respectively.
"I never thought I'd perform in front of the royal family and meet a royal! I've only ever seen her on TV. I'm speechless," he added.
Markle's visit to the National Theatre was her first since she adopted the theatre as one of her initial four royal patronages, People.com reports. The position was handed down by Queen Elizabeth II herself, who was the previous patron. Markle's other royal patronages are the Association of Commonwealth Universities, Smart Works (an organization that helps unemployed and vulnerable women) and animal charity Mayhew.
