Duchess Meghan
Vibrant colours? Not in the presence of the Queen
In her first solo appearance with Queen Elizabeth, Meghan wears a creamy white dress and – quite literally – stays in the background.
© Peter Byrne/Getty Images
Duchess Meghan mostly chose neutral colors for official appearances with the royal family. There was a special reason for this, as she now explains in the Netflix documentary. She wanted to fit in.
Outfits in cream or natural tones have almost become Meghan’s trademark during her time as “Working Royal”. She wore creamy white or soft pink not only on special occasions, such as the first appearance after the birth of her son Archie or her first participation in “Trooping the Colour”, the parade in honor of the Queen’s birthday, but also at public appointments on behalf of the Queen Crown you saw them mostly in beige, white or light brown.
That’s why Meghan rarely wore color
A conscious decision, as she now explains in the Netflix documentary: “I rarely wore color during my time in the UK, and that’s exactly how it was intended,” she says. “The way I understand it, you should never wear the same color as the Queen in her presence. You shouldn’t dress in the same color as other higher-ups in the royal family. So I was like, ‘Hm, What color would they probably never choose? Camel, beige, white?’ So I wore a lot of neutral tones.”
Meghan’s first Christmas as Duchess of Sussex. In a dark blue coat, she doesn’t stand out next to Kate in burgundy and next to Harry and William in dark blue.
© Stephen Pond / Getty Images
“I did everything to adapt”
Meghan also explains that she wanted to blend in with the crowd, not stand out. “It’s not like I haven’t done everything I can to fit in!”
In June 2018, just a month after their wedding, Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan took part in the “Trooping the Color” parade in honor of the Queen. Meghan wears a blush pink ensemble.
© imago images
In fact, if you look at photos from the past few years, you can see that Prince Harry’s wife often wore light, neutral colors. Especially in the presence of the Queen or other royals, but also on appointments that she completed alone or with Prince Harry. However, there were also moments when she wowed with bright colors.
Wes Gordon tailors her a bright red dress for wow performance
The third episode shows a fitting with designer Wes Gordon, creative director of the Spanish fashion house Carolina Herrera, and a good friend of Duchess Meghan, in New York in November 2021. Several assistants help her into a bright red evening dress, small changes are made to the body .
Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan walk the red carpet at the Salute to Freedom Gala in New York. She turned heads in a bright red Wes Gordon for Carolina Herrera dress.
© Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images
Even before her time at Prince Harry’s side, she was a Wes Gordon fan, attended fashion shows, wore his designs – that didn’t change after the wedding in May 2018. “The color is great!” he gushed upon seeing her in his bright red design. Meghan chose the dress for the “Salute to Freedom” gala in New York – as a sign of her newfound freedom?
During the farewell tour of England, she triggered the color fireworks Pictures that went around the world: Meghan chose strong colors for her last appearances as “Senior Royal”. At the Commonwealth service she appears in lush green and with a dramatic cape. © Dan Kitwood / Getty Images
In the fifth episode, the theme is taken up again; during a final trip to England just before the final retreat, Harry and Meghan completed a series of official dates, their “farewell tour”. “Until this last week I rarely wore color, didn’t want to steal the show or make a splash, just trying to fit in, but wore a lot of color that week, wanted to look like a rainbow!”