Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in Tonga's national dress - in pictures

The royal couple wear a handmade wrap skirt called ta'ovala as they bid farewell to the South Pacific

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex visits an exhibition of Tongan handicrafts, mats and tapa cloths at the Fa'onelua Convention Centre in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. Getty Images

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex during a visit to Tupou College in Tonga. Getty Images

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex talks with students at Tupou College. Getty Images

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex meet the Prime Minister of Tonga and Cabinet ministers in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. Getty Images

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex unveil The Queen's Commonwealth Canopy at Tupou College. Getty Images

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, smiles at the unveiling of the Queen's Commonwealth Canopy, in Tupou College in Toloa, Tongatapu island. Reuters

People wave as the royal motorcade carrying Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, travels in Tonga. Reuters

A woman reacts for the camera as she awaits the arrival of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex for their meeting with Tonga Prime Minister in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. Prince Harry and his wife Meghan are on day 11 of their 16-day tour of Australia and the South Pacific. AP Photo

Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex look on before departing from Fua'amotu International Airport in Tonga. Reuters

Meghan Markle's trend-setting dress sense usually drives frenzied shopping at her favoured designers, but her latest choice - traditional Tongan couture - might prove a little harder for fashionistas to track down.

Meghan, 37, who became the Duchess of Sussex when she married Britain's Prince Harry in May, donned garlands of red flowers and a handmade wrap skirt called ta'ovala, given as a traditional sign of respect, on Friday as she and Harry, who also wore the traditional attire, toured the South Pacific nation of Tonga.

The red and white skirts, which the two wore over their normal clothes, spelled "TONGA" in flowers at the waist and won over excited crowds in the archipelago nation, and further afield.

"They're Tongan now. Love how they embrace our culture," wrote another Twitter user, Auburn Palu, from Auckland.

The country of some 170 reef-fringed tropical islands and 108,000 people is a former British colony.

The royal couple met Tongan Prime Minister 'Akilisi Pōhiva at a government building, funded by China but named the St George Building, in the capital, Nuku'alofa.

On the way in, Harry stopped to embrace a small boy holding a sign which said "Free hugs!"

The pair, who are expecting a child of their own in the spring, were serenaded by students at Tupou College, and called in at the Royal Palace, feted everywhere by excited crowds waving flags and signs celebrating the visit.

They laughed when boys from the college sang about mosquitoes, complete with dance moves, at a ceremony to dedicate two forest reserves on the campus, where they also inspected a caged black parrot.

School children later lined the route to the airport where the couple walked over a carpet of woven mats to their plane which left for Australia in the afternoon.

Earlier on their tour, the couple visited Fiji, where enormous crowds showed up to welcome them, and Australia where the public thronged the Sydney Opera House to catch a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth's grandson and his wife.

Meghan last week wore a white cocktail dress by Australian designer Karen Gee prompting such a rush of interest that the designer's website crashed several times.

They return to Australia before visiting New Zealand.