Meghan Markle’s wedding dress designer praises her post-Megxit ‘monochromatic wardrobe’ – after Duchess complained she wasn’t allowed to wear colour as a working royal

Meghan Markle‘s wedding dress designer has complimented the Duchess’ ‘monochromatic wardrobe’ – which she has curated despite complaining that she wasn’t allowed to wear colour as working royal.

Meghan, 44, claims that she ‘rarely wore colour’ while in the UK because of supposed royal protocol that forced her to dress almost exclusively in shades of camel, beige and white.

‘To my understanding, you can’t ever wear the same colour as Her Majesty if there’s a group event,’ she told the Netflix documentary ‘Harry & Meghan’ in 2022. ‘But then you also shouldn’t be wearing the same colour as one of the other more senior members of the family.’

Yet, five years on from ‘Megxit’ and living on her own terms in affluent Montecito, California, it seems that Meghan hasn’t embraced the colourful clothes that she claimed she was once obliged to forego.

Clare Waight Keller, who designed Meghan’s wedding dress and many of her best outfits during her time as a working royal, said that the ex-Suits actress has instead ‘evolved her look’ to achieve a ‘monochromatic wardrobe’.

‘She has very much evolved her look to what you see now – a minimalist, chic, timeless and quite monochromatic wardrobe,’ the former Givenchy creative director told The Telegraph.

Indeed, whether cooking in the kitchen for this year’s ‘With Love, Meghan’series, attending a high-profile event or appearing on the cover of Harper’s Bazaar, Meghan today channels the ‘quiet luxury’ trend centring on muted tones rather than bright shades.

Meghan opted for an all-white ensemble, which she accessorised with a black bag and black shoes, for her ‘surprise’ visit to Paris Fashion Week in October

For her ‘surprise’ visit to Paris Fashion Week in October, the duchess opted for an all-white look, which she paired with a black clutch bag and black shoes, while, for the December/January issue of the US fashion magazine, she chose a black tuxedo jacket and matching trousers. 

Speaking to The Telegraph, Waight Keller, who reportedly spent time with the duchess in Montecito in the summer, added: ‘The thing about Meghan is she knows what she likes.’ The designer later emphasised this point when she said: ‘She knows what looks good.’

Some might see Meghan’s recent sartorial choices as surprising given the apparent fuss she made about not being able to wear what she wanted during her time in the UK.

In the 2022 documentary the mother-of-two added: ‘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 [that was] joining this family and trying not to do everything I could to fit in. I don’t want to embarrass the family.’

However, Meghan did still continue to wear colour on solo engagements – including her visit to a community centre in Birkenhead, where she wore a bright red coat over a purple dress.

Although it is unclear whether royal women are asked to abide by this hierarchical dress code, the Queen famously wore bright colours for public engagements. 

Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme in 2012, royal biographer Robert Hardman claimed this was an active decision Her Majesty to set her apart from crowds. 

In the 2022 documentary ‘Harry & Meghan’, the duchess claimed she was obliged to wear muted tones so as to not upstage the Queen or other royals considered more senior than herself 

Although he didn’t reveal when or where the late monarch made the comment, the expert said: ‘My favourite remark she ever said was “I can never wear beige because nobody will know who I am.”‘

In a 2015 interview with InStyle, Meghan revealed that the colours she gravitates towards give an insight into her mindset.

She said: ‘I think our clothes are such a reflection of how we’re feeling. If you’re in love, you’re probably going to wear things that make you feel like more romantic when you put them on. 

‘Or when you’re going through a stressful time, the same can be said for wearing things that are more monochrome or darker in tone.’ 

Elsewhere in the programme, Prince Harry blasted the ‘invented protocols’ that were appearing in the press around the time Meghan was being introduced into the Firm – alleging that the former Suits star had stepped out of line with her choice of hairstyle or by signing an autograph. 

What’s more, Meghan compared the first encounter with Her Majesty in 2016 to a lowbrow themed dinner at America’s ‘Medieval Times’. 

Recounting the ‘intense’ moment, she performed a deep curtsey as husband Harry watched on, stone-faced, before he glanced off camera appearing awkward. The pair then chuckled afterwards.

Meghan met the Queen for the first time during a lunch at the Royal Lodge in Windsor, shortly after her and the Duke revealed they were dating, in 2016. 

Meghan chose a cream shirt and matching knee-length skirt for her appearance at the Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit 2025 in Washington DC this October

But she said the whole occasion felt like an antiquated banquet at Medieval Times, a family dinner theatre in the US featuring staged medieval-style games, sword-fighting, and jousting. 

The Queen was the first senior member of the Royal Family that Meghan met after she and Prince Harry announced their relationship in 2016. 

‘She had no idea what it all consisted of,’ Harry told the documentary as he sat with his arm around his wife. ‘So it was a bit of a shock to the system for her.’

Grinning, Meghan added: ‘I mean. it’s surreal. There wasn’t like some big moment of “Now you’re gonna meet my grandmother”.

‘I didn’t know I was going to meet her until moments before. We were in the car and we were going to the Royal Lodge for lunch, and he [Harry] was like, “Oh, my grandmother is here, she’s gonna be there after church.”.

‘I remember we were in the car, driving and he’s [Harry] like, “You know how to curtsy, right?”. And I just thought it was a joke.’

The Duke continued: ‘How do you explain that to people? How do you explain that you bow to your grandmother? And that you would need to curtsy, especially to an American. That’s weird.’

Meghan then told the documentary: ‘Now I’m starting to realise this is a big deal. I mean, American’s will understand this. We have Medieval Times dinner and tournament. It was like that. Like, I curtsied as though I was like… “Pleasure to meet you your Majesty.”

‘It was so intense. And then when she left, Eugenie and Jack and Fergie say “you did great!”. Thanks. I didn’t know what I was doing.’