Meghan Markle opts for $1,490 Carolina Herrera cardigan – emblazoned with poppies – and repeats a $398 skirt to meet veterans in San Diego – before heading to opening of veteran centre in $4,690 Giorgio Armani suit

Meghan Markle opted for a $1,490 Carolina Hererra vest — decorated with poppies — to meet military veterans and their families at Camp Pendleton in San Diego on Wednesday.

The Duchess of Sussex, 42, paired the cardigan with a repeat $398 Rafferty midi skirt in black.

Both Meghan and her husband Prince Harry wore Royal British Legion poppies as they cut the ribbon on a new fitness center for veterans.

Meghan then donned a $3,095 Giorgia Armani Mulberry Silk Single-Breasted Jacket in black, which she paired with matching $1,595 pants from the same line.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined the Navy SEAL Foundation for the official opening of a new training facility for veterans, known as the “warrior fitness program,” ahead of Veterans Day on November 11.

Meghan then donned a $3,095 Giorgia Armani Mulberry Silk Single-Breasted Jacket in black, which she paired with matching $1,595 pants from the same line.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined the Navy SEAL Foundation for the official opening of a new training facility for veterans, known as the “warrior fitness program,” ahead of Veterans Day on November 11.

Meghan fittingly opted for a poppy cardigan for the outing

Meghan is a fan of Giorgio Armani’s suits and often chooses the Italian designer for business chic looks.

Meanwhile, Meghan’s skirt was previously worn during a secret visit to a home for military families ahead of the Invictus Games.

The pair’s visit to the Naval Base in Pendleton was announced Wednesday on the website of their Archewell foundation.

Archewell said they “spent the morning with veteran and active military personnel and their loved ones at Camp Pendleton in San Diego, California.”

The pair were pictured with about a dozen people at a discussion table learning about the work of Operation Bigs, a mentoring program established in 2004, according to Archewell.

The program connects military children and families with others who have gone through similar experiences.

Developed by Camp Pendleton, it has served more than 3,000 Navy and Marine Corps children over the past nine years, according to Archewell, and has expanded to more than 30 member organizations across the country.

The prince, 39, spent 10 years in the British army and served two tours in Afghanistan.

Harry and Meghan spent the morning with experienced and active military personnel

The pair were pictured with about a dozen people at a discussion table learning about the work of Operation Bigs, a mentoring program established in 2004, according to Archewell.

Prince Harry, wearing a Remembrance Day poppy in his lapel, is pictured chatting with a guest at Wednesday’s event

He and his wife have spent previous Veterans Days at military sites: in 2021 they were at McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey and in 2020 they visited a military cemetery in Los Angeles.

Last year Harry visited Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

After visiting Camp Pendleton, Meghan and Harry then traveled to downtown San Diego to open a new gym for Navy SEALs and veterans injured in combat.

The 20,000-square-foot Warrior Fitness Program West Coast Facility is the second location to open, following the launch of a facility in Virginia Beach in 2017.

The foundation has helped more than 800 active-duty and experienced SEALs and surface warfighter crew members.

Both locations now have advanced technology, equipment and personnel, San Diego times reported, designed to aid in physical and mental recovery.

“We are thrilled to have the Duke and Duchess here,” said Tony Duynstee, a former SEAL speaking on behalf of the SEAL Foundation.

‘It is a great honor for them to be here for the commissioning.’

Duynstee said they wanted to provide holistic recovery programs.

“It’s not just physical,” he said Wednesday as he showed the media around the site.

‘It’s not just shoulders, knees and back. It’s so much more than that.

“It’s mental health, it’s emotional health. It brings people back into the community and teaches the right habits, starting with the basics like nutrition and sleep.”

Duynstee pointed out that SEALs have had “very tough, sustained combat efforts” for 20 years or more.

After visiting Camp Pendleton, Meghan and Harry then traveled to downtown San Diego to open a new gym for Navy SEALs and veterans injured in combat.

The 20,000-square-foot Warrior Fitness Program West Coast Facility is the second location to open, following a facility in Virginia Beach that launched in 2017

The couple cut the ribbon in central California

Those who use the site will have access to conditioning coaches, performance dieticians, speech pathologists, chiropractors and experts in myofascial release and breathing, the newspaper reported.

The experts will address issues such as chronic pain, cognitive decline, proper nutrition, sleep disruption and social reconnection.

It will also help SEALs return to civilian life

“It’s so difficult when you switch,” Duynstee said.

‘I switched about fifteen years ago and you have to find your purpose again. And that is a major.

‘So when they come back here, they re-engage with their peers in the gym – and that spirit, the morale, is a big booster that goes beyond just learning how to fix themselves physically – so much more in the realm of emotional health and mental health.’

He said the knock-on effects were huge.

If you can stop chronic pain, “that makes the marriage better and that makes that parent a better father.” And so there are direct impacts on family and well-being,” he said.

And Duynstee praised the pair for their work in the field of mental health.

He said they’ve “really destigmatized mental health issues for those who have served in the military, and they’ve done that with courage and it’s just a great validation to have them here.”

It came as across the Atlantic, tensions within Harry’s family continued to simmer, with experts claiming that ‘the rift within the royal family could not be wider’.

The Duke of Sussex’s spokesman slammed reports that Harry had turned down his father’s 75th birthday party next week, claiming he was never invited.

Prince Harry made a stand-up comedy video for a charity event in New York on Monday night, with a video released in Britain just before his father left to deliver his first King’s Speech to Parliament.

Meanwhile, William made a pitch to become king, insisting he wanted to “go a step further” than his family and bring real change to the causes he supports.

The Prince of Wales praised the work of other members of the Royal Family who were “raising awareness” of important causes, but insisted he wanted to do more than “just” be a patron.

William’s comments as his visit to Singapore draws to a close are likely to raise eyebrows at Buckingham Palace as he continues to set out a vision for the future of the monarchy.