Meghan’s £1,545 coat ‘made by workers paid £2.60 an hour’
THE Stella McCartney coat worn by the Duchess of Sussex on Remembrance Sunday was made by workers earning just £2.60 an hour, it was claimed yesterday.
A member of staff working at a factory in Hungary where the garment was made claimed she could barely afford food and heating for her run-down home while working gruelling shifts.
The factory specialises in producing coats and jackets for the top British fashion designer, including the £1,545 belted wool coat worn by Meghan last Sunday.
Ms McCartney, 48, has also come under fire after sharing a photograph of Meghan from the memorial service on Instagram.
Bosses at the Beriv clothing factory in Berettyoujfalu insist all workers are paid above the country’s national minimum monthly wage of £382 and take home more than £500 each month on average.
But one experienced seamstress, known only as Anne, has reportedly produced a pay slip showing she was paid £455 for working 176 hours last month.
That amounts to a 44-hour week earning just £2.58 an hour. Anne said she stitched the lining for the black coat Meghan wore last Sunday when she joined other members of the Royal Family at the Cenotaph war memorial in London. The factory worker said: “We might be paid above the legal amount, but we are still struggling.
“All of us workers are unable to survive and don’t have enough money for food or heating so have to rely on the help of friends and family to get through the month.
“We are very proud of our professionalism and skill because the clothes we make are worn by some of the most high-profile people in the world.
“So many people talking about this coat worn by a princess, but they don’t have a clue about how much we were paid to make it and the lives we live, which is desperately sad.”
Anne said her small house has no heating and claimed she often runs out of money to buy food and cannot afford other basics. Imre Matolcsi, a Beriv director who oversees production at the Hungarian factory, said: “Everyone at this factory is well treated and paid properly, according to Hungarian law.”
A spokeswoman for the Duchess of Sussex said it was “a matter for Stella McCartney’s team”.
Ms McCartney’s representative was contacted for comment.
The British designer had shared a photo on Instagram of Meghan taken during the ceremony.
Ms McCartney said she felt “honoured” the royal had been wearing a coat from her collection.
But social media users said it was “disrespectful” for her to promote her clothing on such a sombre occasion.
Duchess of Sussex in her black coat at memorial