Meghan the royal REBEL
Or how she refuses to bow to the queen’s VERY strict fashion rules
THE little black tuxedo mini dress the Duchess of Sussex wore to a charity performance of the hit musical Hamilton last week would have barely raised an eyebrow in her former life as a successful Hollywood actress.
But the thigh-skimming outfit that showed off her impressively well-toned – and scandalously bare – legs was decidedly risque for her new starring role as a royal.
In fact, Meghan Markle’s £460 (€510) dress by Canadian label Judith & Charles broke no fewer than four golden rules of the rigid dress code of the royal family.
There is, of course, no formal rule book, but the queen has made it clear that there is an unwritten protocol which dictates what royal women should wear – and when.
Such is the universal respect in which Queen Elizabeth is held that even the most unconventional members of ‘The Firm’ have generally adhered to her fashion guidelines.
These, of course, favour discretion over vulgarity and practicality over glamour every time.
Indeed, even the most rebellious of royals, Diana, dared not flout convention until after the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles: who can forget the strikingly sexy ‘revenge’ dress by Greek designer Christina Stambolian she pointedly wore to the Serpentine Gallery’s summer party on the night Charles confessed his affair on television?
So perhaps it’s fitting that it has been left to Diana’s daughter-in-law Meghan, the face of a more modern monarchy, to be more flagrant.
Not only did she appear with no fleshcoloured tights to cover her slender legs, but she also wore a daring pair of vertiginous heels.
Worse, the dress was – appallingly – black and – shock, horror – cut above the knee.
So what are the royal fashion rules that govern what the royals can and can’t wear? And how is Meghan breaking them? Baring your sun-tanned legs may be okay in California, but according to royal etiquette, one should wear tights – or stockings – for formal occasions. Meghan appears to be a repeat rule-breaker, as these outfits from The Commonwealth Youth Challenge reception in London, left, at Dublin Airport, centre, and at an Invictus Games event in April, right, show.