With Meghan Markle revealing that she felt “inauthentic” when she had to wear tights on royal engagements, royal expert Jennie Bond explains how relaxed the royal protocol really is
Meghan Markle hit out at a royal protocol in a recent interview, as she claims she was forced to wear nude tights while out on public engagements during her time as a working royal.
During an interview on The Circuit podcast, on which she appeared to promote the second season of her Netflix series With Love, Meghan, the Duchess told host Emily Chang that she felt “inauthentic” when adhering to the strict rule, and said she “couldn’t be as vocal” when she was forced to follow royal customs.
However, royal expert Jennie Bond – who has spent much time with the Firm over the years, has debunked her claims, explaining how relaxed the royal protocol truly is.
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The former BBC royal commentator told the Mirror: “While Meghan herself said the comment about pantyhose was a silly example, it illustrated how she felt she could never be herself when she was part of the royal family. I did, though, think it was an odd example.
Jennie added that while the preferred etiquette for royal women is to wear the tights, “Would she really have got in any sort of trouble if she had worn different coloured tights or gone bare legged on a warm day? I doubt it.”
Further explaining her point, the royal expert recalled when she was invited to a royal engagement, and experienced the relaxed protocol firsthand.
She said: “I once turned up at a Buckingham Palace garden party in a flimsy, not particularly smart, summer frock and no hat because I couldn’t be bothered to dress up in the summer heat. I certainly didn’t wear tights. No one said a word. True, I am not royalty! But it shows that protocol isn’t as strict as some people make out.”
While Jennie admitted that Meghan’s discussion of the tights rule was a “silly example”, she explained how Meghan’s interpretation of the royal fashion protocol was only further proof that she felt suppressed by the seemingly endless number of royal rules.
“I think it’s rather like the exaggerated curtsy Meghan dramatically performed in the Netflix series she and Harry made,” Jennie said. “No one curtsies like that, nor are they expected to.”
“I think it’s a further illustration of the fact that this confident and independent woman didn’t understand that she was becoming part of a working team: the Firm. And she might not always be able to do things exactly her way.”
Despite her jab at the fashion etiquette within the Firm, Jennie said that Meghan clearly seems “happy now”, while admitting she “really doesn’t understand her California speak”.
She added: “She says she wants to ‘show up in that space really organically and authentically’. Whatever that means, I hope she has achieved it.”
