Meghan Markle's First Official Gift as a Royal Is This Kitchen Essential

Meghan Markle's journey to becoming a member of the royal family—she will likely be a duchess, by the way, not a princess—is in full swing. In her second appearance, she and her soon-to-be husband, Prince Harry, visited a radio station, and the couple's is already off on their third official royal engagement: a trip to Wales. Markle seems to adjusting to a life of charity work and public appearances in knee-length coats and practical long-sleeved ensembles with ease, but this fairy tale chapter of her life might have come into sharp relief for the now-retired actress when she received her first official gift as a member of the royal family.

In January, the royal family typically releases a comprehensive list of every gift the royal family received the pervious year, and this year Markle was included among the names of princes, princesses, dukes, and duchesses. Her gift, which her soon-to-be brother-in-law Prince William received on her behalf, came from Finland, during the future king's official state visit: an apron.

It might be more thoughtful adn practical than it sounds. Prince Harry did, after all, propose to her over a dinner of roast chicken, which suggests that the pair enjoy cooking together. She loves roast chicken so much, in fact, that she admitted it's the one dish that is a consistent crowd-pleaser at dinner parties. Yes, the royal family has a whole staff of cooks that work in their homes and cater to their individual tastes—Queen Elizabeth II, for instance, enjoys chocolate biscuit cake but won't eat garlic with any of her meals—but Markle, who did not grow up with anything near the royal treatment, seems like the type of person that would still like to cook for herself and her family on occasion.

And that's not the only culinary-themed gift she's received. On their official visit to Wales, where Prince Harry and Markle are celebrating the cultural heritage of the small island country, the soon-to-be-royal was given a traditional wooden Celtic Love Spoon, a hand carved utensil bestowed to a woman by her suitor as far back as the 1600s.

Once Prince Harry and Markle move into Nottingham Cottage (hardly a quaint residence, it's on the grounds of Kensington Palace) they may not be using the sweet gift for soup, but as they settle into married life, that apron might actually prove to be pretty useful.