The royals follow a strict protocol in their daily lives, and this includes fashion choices. But some rebellious royals choose not to follow these unofficial style codes as religiously as others.
The late Princess Diana, known for her iconic 90s fashion, and the Duchess of Sussex, synonymous with understated luxury, often found loopholes that suited their personal style choices. However, the Princess of Wales has stayed faithful to these rules and has very rarely strayed from them.
Tights
Tights, or pantyhose as the USA calls them, are meant to be worn for public engagements where the legs are on show.
© GettyWhile Prince William's wife Kate regularly wears stockings, Diana often preferred to go bare-legged.
During her time as a working royal, Meghan also ignored the nude hosiery rule on several occasions, including her engagement announcement with Prince Harry in November 2017, when she wore a white belted coat by Line the Label and nude Aquazzura heels.
© GettyBlack dresses
Despite the shade being the most versatile colour out there, black may only be worn for daytime engagements when in mourning, according to royal protocol.
Prince William and Harry's mother often defied this. Dame Zandra Rhodes recently confirmed this in an interview with Saga Magazine, revealing that Diana loved black dresses.
© GettyThe fashion designer revealed: "She was very shy. She would come into my shop in Mayfair and go through the rails. Sometimes she picked something in black, which the royals weren't allowed to wear except at funerals, so we would make it in her size in a different colour."
© GettyFamously, Diana wore a show-stopping black gown by David and Elizabeth Emanuel to a fundraising concert. Many years later, Diana was interviewed for her biography, and reportedly revealed that when Charles saw her in the dress, he remarked: "Only people in mourning wear black!"
© GettyMeghan took a leaf out of her late mother-in-law's playbook and often debuted all-black outfits following her fairytale royal wedding to Prince Harry in 2018. Case in point was her royal tour of Australia, when she turned heads in a stunning ebony-hued Emilia Wickstead dress, and her one-shoulder, all-black bodycon Givenchy dress at the Fashion Awards.
© GettyThe Duchess later admitted she developed a "muted" wardrobe in order to prevent "embarrassing" the royals. "Most of the time that I was in the UK, I rarely wore colour," she said in her new docuseries. Meghan & Harry. "There was thought in that. To my understanding, you can't ever wear the same colour as Her Majesty 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.
"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. Like, I'm not trying to stand out here. So there's no version of me joining this family and trying to not do everything I could to fit in. I don't want to embarrass the family."
Meanwhile, Kate very rarely wears black to royal engagements other than during a period of mourning. One of the handful of exceptions was during her visit to the 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards in her role as Colonel-in-Chief of the regiment in 2023, where she surprised in an all-black outfit consisting of sleek trousers, a fitted turtle-neck jumper and a blazer.
