Meghan Markle talks about her time as a working royal in the Harry & Meghan documentaries on Netflix. Among several revelations in the first three episodes, which debuted on December 8, the Duchess of Sussex shares her experience of dressing for formal events – a process she found challenging. To placate the family and stick to the traditional royal dress code, the former ‘Suits’ actress has been relegated to a neutral palette of camel, beige and white.
“I rarely wore color for most of the time I was in the UK,” she reveals in episode three of the series. “There was thought involved.” Markle says she tried to avoid breaking convention and offending anyone with her color choices. “As far as I know, you could never wear the same color as Her Majesty [Queen Elizabeth II] if there’s a group event, but you shouldn’t wear the same color as any of the other older members of the family either,” she said, possibly referring to royals like Kate Middleton or Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles.
With a limited amount of work to do, the mother-of-two turned to neutral colors to avoid drawing attention. “So I was like, ‘Well, what’s one color they’ll probably never wear?’ Camel, beige, white. So I wore a lot of muted tones, but it was also like I could just blend in. I’m trying not to stand out here. There was no version of me that I’m joining this family and that I’m not doing everything I could blend in. I don’t want to embarrass the family.Markle wore mostly neutrals throughout her tenure, even opting for a beige coat and brown accessories at a holiday event: a Christmas service at the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in 2017 .
Naturally, as she neared the end of her time as working queen, fans saw Markle embrace bold colors with a newfound sense of confidence and optimism. In her last public appearance before stepping down as Senior Royal in 2020, she celebrated Commonwealth Day in a green Emilia Wickstead cape dress and matching fascinator. And as she returned to the red carpet after ditching her role, she did so in a bright red Carolina Herrera gown.
The first few episodes of the Harry & Meghan docuseries contain several other fashion moments, including a mention of the sentimental one-piece suits the couple wore to celebrate their engagement. The final three episodes will air December 15 on Netflix.
