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Meghan Markle's Beige-Clothing Mention in Harry & Meghan

Why Meghan Markle Avoided Wearing Colour During Her Time as a Working Royal

Meghan Markle Wearing Beige As a Working Royal
Image Source: Getty / Chris Jackson

Meghan Markle is opening up about her time as a working royal in the "Harry & Meghan" docuseries on Netflix. Among several revelations in the first three episodes, which debuted on 8 Dec., the Duchess of Sussex shares her experience getting dressed for formal events — a process she found challenging. To appease the family and adhere to the traditional royal dress code, the former "Suits" actress found herself relegated to a neutral colour palette of camel, beige, and white.

"Most of the time that I was in the U.K., I rarely wore colour," she revealed in episode 3 of the series. "There was thought in that." Markle says she was trying to avoid breaking convention and offending anyone with her colour choice. "To my understanding, you could never wear the same colour as Her Majesty [Queen Elizabeth II] if there's a group event, but then you also shouldn't be wearing the same colour as one of the other more senior members of the family," she said, possibly referring to royals like Kate Middleton or Queen Consort Camilla Parker Bowles.

With a limited scope to work from, the mom-of-2 turned to neutrals to avoid drawing attention to herself. "So I was like, 'Well, what's a colour that they'll probably never wear?' Camel, beige, white. So, I wore a lot of muted tones, but it was also so I could just blend in. I'm not trying to stand out here. There was no version of me joining this family and me not doing everything I could to fit in. I don't want to embarrass the family." Markle primarily wore neutrals throughout her tenure, even opting for a beige coat and brown accessories at a holiday event: a Christmas Day Church service at Church of St Mary Magdalene in 2017.

Of course, as she neared the end of her time as a working royal, fans saw Markle embrace bold colour with a newfound sense of confidence and optimism. For her final public appearance before stepping down as a senior royal in 2020, she celebrated Commonwealth Day in a caped green dress by Emilia Wickstead with a matching fascinator. And when she returned to the red carpet after relinquishing her role, she did so in a bright red Carolina Herrera gown.

The first episodes of the "Harry & Meghan" docuseries included several other fashion moments, including a mention of the sentimental onsies the couple wore to celebrate their engagement. The final three episodes will debut on Netflix on 15 Dec.

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