A royal expert has delved into dozens of reported protocol breaches by Meghan Markle during her short royal tenure which foreshadowed her grand exit, it has been claimed. The Duchess of Sussex married into the Royal Family in 2018 but left nearly two years later, in early 2020, after she and Prince Harry decided to move to the US.
The Sussexes’ sensational exit led to a bitter rift with the royals, which is still ongoing. According to a royal expert, there have been signs ever since the early days of Meghan’s royal career that show “a conscious, committed rebellion on her part.”
Richard Eden detailed more than a dozen sartorial protocol breaches done by the Duchess in the two years that she was working for the Firm on his YouTube programme, Reading the Royals.
The Daily Mail’s Diary Editor made various accusations against the Duchess, pointing out how her style choices always differed from those of other royal women, including the late Queen Elizabeth and Kate, the Princess of Wales.
Some of the breaches included Meghan refusing to wear tights, wearing off-the-shoulder clothing to official royal events, and wearing non-British designers to a British fashion awards ceremony.
Mr Eden said: “Given the volume of headlines that Meghan created, people forget how brief her royal tenure was. It spanned a mere 22 months, from her marriage in May 2018 to her acrimonious departure in March 2020.
“In that time, there were more than a dozen examples of her breaking the rules – about one every two months.”
The royal expert said Meghan’s first breach took place during her official engagement photograph, when she wore a sheer gown, which is a “no-no” for royals for daytime wear.
He said: “This was Meghan declaring, when she barely had her foot in the palace door, that she would be treating royal protocol as ‘guidance only’.”
He also noted the price of the Duchess’s dress at £56,000 and compared it to Princess Kate’s engagement dress, which retailed at £385.
According to the diary editor, another protocol breach took place at Wimbledon in 2018, when Meghan opted for a pair of white wide-leg trousers, unlike Kate, who donned a dress.
Mr Eden criticised Meghan, saying she should have been “expected to keep to the usual Royal Box rules and, like Catherine, wear skirts or dresses for the occasion.”
The expert noted that Meghan’s “most crass sartorial gesture” took place in 2018 again, when she chose to wear a gown by French label Givenchy at the British Fashion Awards.
He also blasted her for wearing Dior one year later for Prince Archie’s christening.
He said: “Traditionally, a royal mother wears a piece by a British designer for every christening.”
Mr Eden compared it to Kate, who wore British designers, Alexander McQueen in particular, for all of her children’s christenings.
The royal expert concluded: “There are numerous other examples of similar protocol breaches. And what they suggest to me is a conscious, committed rebellion on her part.
“The signs were there from the beginning that Meghan refused to accept the contract: the deal that says being a royal comes with undoubted benefits, but that there’s a price to be paid.
“Namely, you must completely dedicate your life to public service. Your individual brand and personality must always come second to the reputation of the Firm and traditions it represents.”