The 8 hidden meanings in Meghan’s wardrobe for her quasi-royal tour – including subtle nods to Prince Harry and her BFF in California
All eyes have been on the Duchess of Sussex – and her typically chic style choices – in recent days as she and Prince Harry visited Australia for a quasi-royal tour.
While an impeccably curated wardrobe is typical of visits like this one, the Duchess of Sussex, 44, pulled out all the stops by wearing nine outfits over four days as she travelled from Melbourne to Sydney alongside the Duke of Sussex.
She has also partnered with OneOff, an AI-powered fashion discovery platform, to promote the looks while likely earning a commission on the sale of these high-end clothes and accessories – from a $1,250 (£922) designer dress to $780 (£575) earrings.
But pieces from her Australia tour wardrobe have more in common than just their eye-watering price tags.
Meghan chose to exclusively wear the creations of Australian designers – including Karen Gee, Friends with Frank, and St Agni – to honour the host country she last visited in 2018 after marrying Prince Harry.
Through her tour wardrobe, however, Meghan also seemingly celebrated her life with Prince Harry in California after quitting the Royal Family.
At the same time, she paid tribute to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, while channelling sophisticated ‘First Lady’ style Down Under.
From her romantic nods to the Duke of Sussex to the £50 tights with a deeper meaning, these are all the hidden details in Meghan’s tour style.
BFF’S CHARITY T-SHIRT
Meghan Markle supported her best friend, Kelly McLee Zajfen’s charity Alliance of Moms by wearing the organisation’s ‘Mama’ t-shirt
On the third day of Harry and Meghan’s visit, they were shown around Melbourne‘s famous Scar Tree Walk as the Sussexes opted for more casual looks.
While the Duke was dressed in a blue shirt and trousers, Meghan was spotted wearing a white t-shirt with a heart and the word ‘Mama’ on it.
The deceptively simple $40 t-shirt is actually a poignant nod to Meghan’s best friend, Kelly McKee Zajfen, and the parenting community she co-founded.
The shirt supports the Alliance of Moms, an organisation supporting expectant and parenting youth in Los Angeles’s foster care system.
This isn’t the first time Meghan has supported Kelly’s charity.
In April 2024, Meghan joined forces with her friend and former Suits co-star Abigail Spencer to promote the organisation described as a ‘community of moms for moms’.
Meghan and Abigail both appeared in a Mother’s Day campaign for Alliance of Moms as they posed in ‘love like a mother’ t-shirts for photos that were posted on the group’s Instagram account.
Thanking her actress pals, Kelly captioned the post: ‘You inspire me. You pick me up when I need it and you Love Like A Mother!’
TRIBUTE TO HARRY
Meghan wearing Princess Diana’s Cartier Tank Française watch and the constellation rings from Logan Hollowell
Meghan’s jewellery collection paid a subtle tribute to her husband on the third day of their trip.
Photos showed Meghan wearing two constellation rings from Logan Hollowell, based in Los Angeles as fans noticed it was a romantic gesture for Prince Harry.
She wore the Virgo Diamond Constellation Ring, priced at £2,171, and the Leo Constellation Ring, worth £1,685, to represent her and Harry’s star signs.
The Duchess also owns two constellation necklaces from the same brand – one for Gemini, Lilibet’s birth sign, and another for Taurus, which is Archie’s.
DIPLOMATIC DRESSING
Meghan wearing a khaki A-line dress from Aussie label Friends with Frank for a visit to Swinburne University
Meghan delivered a masterclass in diplomatic dressing during her and Prince Harry’s tour Down Under by showcasing some of the country’s most exciting names in fashion.
Meghan kicked off the tour with a regal, navy dress from Karen Gee in an especially considered choice.
The Duchess’s first outfit during her royal tour of Australia after marrying Prince Harry was also from Karen Gee’s label, when she wore an elegant cream dress, as fans on X noted the ‘thoughtful’ detail.
She continued her streak by wearing brands like Byron-Bay-based St Agni, behind Meghan’s matching khaki co-ord set, Camilla and Marc, and Friends with Frank.
Meghan turned to Scanlan Theodore, a luxury Australian label for the ‘global woman’, for her headlining appearance at the women-only Her Best Life retreat on Friday.
TRIBUTE TO DIANA
As she always does, Meghan kept her mother-in-law, Princess Diana, in her thoughts as the Duchess completed all of her looks with one priceless accessory.
Meghan sported Princess Diana’s Cartier Tank Française watch, which sells for $48,000 when new but is thought to be priceless in this case.
FIRST LADY STYLE
The Duchess of Sussex stepped out in not one but two elegant ensembles as she and Prince Harry began their four-day quasi-royal tour of Australia
Later in the day Meghan swapped her monochrome look for more laid-back earthy tones as the couple visited the National Veterans Arts Museum
Meghan channelled sophisticated ‘First Lady’ style in a navy ‘Priscilla Dress’ from Sydney-based label Karen Gee costing £923 as she and her husband arrived at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne on the first day of their tour.
Looking effortlessly elegant, the Duchess stylish gown fanned out into an A-line skirt, with golden buttons adding a touch of luxury.
The rest of her look was simple, with black heels and her hair pulled back into a ponytail.
TWINNING WITH HARRY
To continue the first day of her tour Down Under, Meghan swapped from her ‘First Lady’ style to a more laid-back look.
She wore a khaki shirt and jacket, costing £675 and £760 respectively, from Australian designer St Agni for the couple’s visit to the National Veterans Arts Museum.
The Duchess also added a £175 knitted taupe turtleneck from P. Johnson and white stilettos from her beloved Aquazzura, which were a perfect match for Harry’s military green button-up.
BACK IN TIGHTS
For her visit to Swinburne University with Prince Harry, the Duchess wore a £286 ‘Anya’ dress from Australian label Friends with Frank, as well as Wolford tights and Manolo Blahnik pumps
Meghan previously complained about having to wear sheer tights for royal events, such as at King Charles’s 70th Birthday Patronage Celebration on May 22, 2018
After complaining about having to wear ‘pantyhose’ for official engagements as a working royal, Meghan, 44, donned a pair of semi-sheer black tights under a khaki A-line dress on a sunny day in Melbourne on Thursday.
For her visit to Swinburne University, the Duchess wore a £286 ‘Anya’ dress from Australian label Friends with Frank, which has since been uploaded to her AI-powered storefront on the OneOff website.
The Duchess finished the look with a pair of Manolo Blahnik pumps and £50 tights from Wolford. She previously criticised royal fashion protocol that forbade women in the Firm showing their bare legs on official outings.
In an interview with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang last August, Meghan said wearing the sheer tights ‘felt a little bit inauthentic’ and that she ‘hadn’t seen pantyhose since movies in the 80s’.
While promoting the second series of her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, she told Emily that she is ‘just being herself’, before appearing to take a dig at her former life in the royal fold.
Meghan said: ‘It was different several years ago, when I couldn’t be as vocal and I had to wear nude pantyhose all the time!
‘Let’s be honest, that was not very myself. I hadn’t seen pantyhose since movies in the 80s! That felt a little bit inauthentic.’
Despite this, Meghan was photographed several times with bare legs during her time in the UK, including in her and Prince Harry’s engagement picture that was released in 2017.
HOMAGE TO CALIFORNIA
Meghan wearing the £575 Puffy Heart earrings from LA-based Real Fine Studio that still stuck to the ‘diplomatic dressing’ brief
Finally, Meghan went back to her roots by paying homage to Los Angeles with a pair of £575 earrings that still stuck to the ‘diplomatic dressing’ brief in a ‘carefully considered’ addition.
Meghan paired her sleeveless Karen Gee dress with the Puffy Heart earrings from LA-based Real Fine Studio that was established by Australian-born designer Eliza O’Connor.
Jewellery expert Olivia Hobart told Marie Claire that Meghan’s choice of earrings ‘subtly honours the host country, using jewellery as a quiet but effective tool of cultural recognition’.
