We already know Meghan Markle is unafraid to rock a messy bun, no matter how critical fussy royal watchers might be of her protocol-breaking signature style. And after the British Fashion Awards, we can add another entry to the list of ways the Duchess of Sussex is doing this whole royalty thing her own way.
Markle made a surprise appearance at the 2018 award show on Monday to honor Clare Waight Keller, the designer of her wedding dress. She wore a one-shouldered Givenchy gown, a low hair bun, and dark nail polish that broke with a longstanding royal beauty “rule.”
PHOTO: Joe Maher/BFC/Getty Images
Typically, royals (including Markle’s sister-in-law Kate Middleton) will wear pale shades of polish on their well-manicured nails for official appearances. The reason? Rumor has it that Queen Elizabeth II prefers it that way because she finds colorful nail polish—even if it’s a classic, non-trendy shade—vulgar. Her Majesty herself has been wearing Essie’s Ballet Slippers for decades. And so far, the Duchess of Sussex has played it pretty by-the-book on this front… until tonight.
She was attending a fashion event, after all—and an award-show setting that must have reminded Markle of her past life as an actress. The dark (maybe even black) polish color looked amazing with her one-shouldered gown and gold bangles—and was far from vulgar, to be sure, as you can see in the close-up below.
PHOTO: Jeff Spicer/BFC
Given that press critical of Markle has basically become a cottage industry, we’re sure to hear from some naysayers—however, Twitter was pretty excited to see her change up her mani. “Good on Meghan for not only wearing nail polish that isn’t pink but a bold dark color,” one user wrote. “Mannnn, Meghan Markle DGAF! LOOK AT THE BEAUTY!!! HER BUMP! HER DRESSSSSSS!!! Black nail polish too? I STAN A GORGEOUS REBEL!” said another.
Meghan Markle has repeatedly made headlines for breaking “royal protocol” but apparently, it’s not that serious. In a recent interview, Michelle Obama revealed that Queen Elizabeth II is more chill than the public gives her credit for. She once told the former First Lady not to worry too much over codes of behavior because “it’s all rubbish.”
Appearing at a book event in London’s Southbank Centre, Obama talked about meeting the queen in 2009 and again in 2016, and described how overwhelming all of the etiquette associated with such a high-profile encounter can be. Apparently, the queen was actually super easygoing and made it clear she doesn’t get too bogged down in all of the nitpicky traditions.
“I had all this protocol buzzing in my head, and I was like, ‘Don’t trip down the stairs and don’t touch anybody, whatever you do,'” Obama said, according to The Daily Mail. “And so the queen says, ‘Just get in, sit wherever,’ and she’s telling you one thing and you’re remembering protocol and she says, ‘Oh it’s all rubbish, just get in.'”
The suggestion that the queen may not be such a stickler after all should come as a relief to fans of Markle. Lots of her so-called “breaches” in protocol have involved fashion: The Duchess of Sussex has gone barefoot, worn pantsuits, and skipped wearing a hat, despite certain expectations of the royal family. Still, there’s no real rulebook, and it seems like most of Markle’s supposed infractions have been pretty minor in the grand scheme of things. They might even be some of those “rubbish” rules the queen is overlooking herself.
Obama has been all about the royals lately. In a recent conversation with Good Housekeeping, she shared some words of wisdom for Markle: “[My] biggest piece of advice would be to take some time and don’t be in a hurry to do anything.”
Meghan Markle is often described as a “royal rule-breaker,” which is both true and not true: Yes, the Duchess of Sussex does have a habit of breaking with royal tradition when it comes to her speech and even her wedding. However, there’s no exact rulebook. Markle isn’t disregarding hard-and-fast protocols, per se, but more so challenging the way things have been done in the royal family for years.
People often cite Markle’s fashion choices when they talk about her breaking royal rules, and although the former Suits star has veered away from tradition when it comes to her clothes, at the end of the day stylists wouldn’t let her wear something inappropriate. She’s simply just reimagining what it means to be a chic royal in the modern world—and we’re so here for that. Below, here are 10 times Markle’s style broke tradition.
Though Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton have found subtle ways to subvert royal protocol over the years, they still, for the most part, adhere to it in their day-to-day lives. Outsiders get a taste of the strict rules members of that family are supposed to follow during certain events, like royal weddings. It’s always fun to see how the high-profile, royal-adjacent guests interpret these codes—and, in some cases, chose to break them. At Princess Eugenie’s nuptials, Cara Delevingne used fashion to do just that.
On Friday, October 12, the model and actress attended Princess Eugenie‘s wedding to Jack Brooksbank wearing what Vanity Fair notes is a break from the traditional interpretation of the dress code, which called for “Morning Coat/Day Dress with Hat.” Typically, “morning dress” designates menswear: a coat, waistcoat, and formal trousers. Delevingne flipped those gendered dress conventions, though, by rolling up to St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in a tux by Emporio Armani that fit that bill.
PHOTO: GARETH FULLER/Getty Images
For the ceremony, she wore her “morning dress” best: a white button-down shirt, gray necktie, black waistcoat with knee-length tails, black cummerbund, and black cropped pants.
PHOTO: MATT CROSSICK/Getty Images
She paired it with a black top hat by Nick Fouquet and pointy-toed black stiletto heels by Chanel.
PHOTO: WPA Pool/Getty Images
Hey, Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank invitation didn’t actually specify a dress code by gender, which could certainly be construed as a “take your pick” situation. And Cara knows her wedding look was on-point: She shared an image of her outfit on Instagram and captioned it, “Showing up the lads.”
PHOTO: WPA Pool/Getty Images
Delevingne and Princess Eugenie are longtime friends—not only did the two famous Brits hang out at a London Fashion Week party in 2015, but Cara was also reportedly invited to Eugenie’s 25th birthday party that same year. Her sister, Poppy, was also at the wedding.
Donald Trump caused a major Twitter storm last week when he reportedly kept Queen Elizabeth II waiting for about 15 minutes. But this was far from the only faux pas he allegedly committed that day. According to news reports, the president went on to break royal protocol multiple times during his meeting with the queen.
The New York Times reports that both the president and First Lady Melania Trump forgot to bow and curtsy when meeting Queen Elizabeth II, as is customary. Then, Trump walked in front of the 92-year-old monarch, which the Times writes is a “royal no-no.” Footage of the awkward moment shows him stopping in front of her at one point, cutting her off, and making her walk around him. Check out the receipts for yourself, below:
The third snafu happened after the meeting. On Monday, Good Morning Britain aired an interview Trump did with host Piers Morgan, in which he recalled the queen saying Brexit was “a very complex problem.” Time reports that heads of state revealing their conversations with the queen is a breach of protocol.
Buckingham Palace shot down reports and rumors that Prince Charles and Prince William intentionally snubbed Trump by not attending his meeting with the queen. “It was entirely in line with standard practice for guest of government visits [for] The Queen to receive the President and First Lady,” a palace spokesperson said, according to The Independent. “The arrangements were mutually agreed between the Palace and the U.K. and U.S. governments. There was never a suggestion that other members of the royal family would take part.”
Meghan Markle is often described as a royal “rule-breaker,” which is both flattering and disconcerting. On the one hand, it’s admirable Markle is becoming a royal on her own terms and not paying much attention to some of the archaic traditions upheld by the family.
But these so-called “rules” Markle is breaking are so outdated and minute, the Internet often praises her for doing things as simple as wearing her hair down. It feels a bit backwards to talk about women in these terms, so perhaps there should be a change in what we expect from female royals.
One way to do that is to examine all the times Markle broke this so-called “royal protocol.” You’ll see many of the items are quite ridiculous, which begs the question: Why are we policing royal women in these ways? Take a look, below, and chew on that thought.
1. Her sleeveless looks. Markle wore a dress with an off-the-shoulder neckline to Queen Elizabeth’s Trooping of the Colour ceremony in June, setting off a media firestorm. According to The Sun, it’s customary for royal women to “not wear off-shoulder or other more revealing styles.”
PHOTO: Getty Images
2. Markle’s Coat of Arms. The Duchess of Sussex received her crest directly from Kensington Palace shortly after her wedding, which breaks with royal tradition. Typically, the Coat of Arms is bestowed upon the bride’s father, so in Markle’s case, it should’ve gone to Thomas Markle. That didn’t happen for...various reasons…so Markle snagged the Arms herself.
3. Her bridal procession. Markle began her walk down the aisle at St. George’s Chapel alone and was later joined by Prince Charles. Those first few moments of solitude were groundbreaking.
PHOTO: WPA Pool
4. Markle’s wedding cake choice. She went with lemon elderflower. Traditionally, royal weddings have included fruitcakes.
5. Her political commentary. It’s customary for royals to stay out of political debates and remain neutral. However, Markle seemingly broke this unspoken rule in February when she vocalized her opinions about Time’s Up and female empowerment during a panel discussion at The Royal Foundation. “What’s interesting is that I hear a lot of people saying, when talking about girls‘ empowerment and women as well, you’ll often hear people saying, ‘You’re helping them find their voices,'” she said. “I fundamentally disagree with that. Women don’t need to find their voice. They need to feel empowered to use it, and people need to be encouraged to listen.”
6. Her cross-body bags. There’s no formal rule that prohibits these types of purses, but royal women typically opt for clutches. Some reports say this is so they can avoid shaking hands with people, which brings us to…
PHOTO: Getty Images
7. Hugs, selfies, and autographs. Markle hugged several children on a January trip to Wales, which is considered outside the norm for a royal. They also don’t really take selfies or sign autographs, both of which Markle’s reportedly done in the past (notably on a trip to Cardiff.) When Prince Charles is asked for an autograph, he reportedly says, “Sorry, they don’t allow me to do that.”
PHOTO: Chris Jackson
8. Her wedding speech. Markle reportedly gave a very touching speech at her own royal wedding, which is something typically reserved for the notable male figures at the event: the groom, the Best Man, the father of the bride, etc.
9. When she spent Christmas with the royal family. This went against royal protocol because typically only married couples can join the queen for Christmas. Markle and Prince Harry were just engaged at the time.
10. The pantyhose. Markle’s been consistently wearing pantyhose since tying the knot with Prince Harry; however, she broke the unspoken rule about exposed legs in November during her engagement announcement.
PHOTO: Getty Images
11. The fact Markle is divorced. A royal marrying someone who was previously married is rare, and certainly breaks with tradition. It should go without saying this custom (and many of these) are outdated.
12. Markle and Prince Harry’s PDA. By PDA, we mean hand-holding, but even that breaks with royal protocol to a certain degree. Consider the fact Prince William and Kate Middleton are rarely photographed holding hands.
PHOTO: Max Mumby/Indigo
13. The sermon at her wedding. Instead of choosing a standard British clergyman, Markle and Prince Harry went with Bishop Michael Curry, whose speech at their wedding was a highlight of the day.
14. Markle and Prince Harry’s first post-wedding kiss. Because Markle and Prince Harry didn’t get married at Buckingham Palace, they couldn’t share an iconic kiss on the balcony. Instead, they opted for a smooch right outside Windsor Castle, where they exchanged their vows.
PHOTO: Getty Images
15. Markle’s lack of Maid of Honor at her wedding. She had too many good friends to choose from. If you remember, Pippa Middleton was Kate’s Maid of Honor in 2011.
16. Her messy bun. Royal women’s up-dos are historically tight and in-place. Markle’s bun look from January 2018, however, was loose, free, and a total deviation.
PHOTO: Getty Images
17. Markle reportedly turning her back to the queen at the Royal Ascot. Granted, this is just a rumor, but if so this would be a break from tradition, as well. Customarily, you don’t turn your back to the queen.
18. The “duchess slant.” Royal women have a traditional way of crossing their legs, which Markle seemingly forgot during an appearance last month; however, she quickly corrected it. Of course, this didn’t stop trolls for coming after her. Again, this feels like an…unnecessary rule.
Christopher Rosa is Glamour’s entertainment staff writer.
