Meghan Markle Recalls Royal Rule She Had to Follow That Felt ‘a Little Bit Inauthentic’

Meghan Markle is opening up about a royal tradition that never felt right to her in a new interview.

The Duchess of Sussex, 44, spoke on The Circuit with Emily Chang in an episode of the Bloomberg Originals series released on Aug. 26, the same day the second season of With Love, Meghan premiered on Netflix.

Chang asked, “Is there an inherent tension in trying to be relatable while also being a duchess?” during their conversation, which touched on Meghan’s life in California with Prince Harry and their children, Prince Archie, 6, and Princess Lilibet, 4, as well as her business projects.

“No, I don’t find that. I’m just being myself,” Meghan replied. “It was probably different several years ago, when I couldn’t be as vocal,” she added, seemingly referring to her years in the royal family before she and Harry stepped back from their roles in 2020.

She recalled one specific rule: “I had to wear nude pantyhose all the time,” Meghan said with a laugh, calling it “a little bit inauthentic” since she hadn’t worn them since the 1980s.

“But it is an example,” she continued. “When you’re able to dress how you want, say what’s true, and show up authentically, that’s being comfortable in your own skin. Right now, I don’t feel like I need to prove anything.”

The Duchess of Sussex has talked before about how she dressed while working as a royal. In the 2022 Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, she explained that she wore muted tones to “blend in” with the family.

“Most of the time I was in the U.K., I rarely wore color,” Meghan said in the series. She explained that she believed it was important not to wear the same shade as Queen Elizabeth II or more senior royals like Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla.

“So I thought, ‘What colors will they probably never wear? Camel, beige, white,’” Meghan said. “I wore a lot of muted tones, but it was also so I could just blend in. I wasn’t trying to stand out. There was no version of me joining this family without doing everything I could to fit in. I didn’t want to embarrass the family.”

Her interview with The Circuit came out the same day season 2 of her lifestyle series With Love, Meghan dropped on Netflix, featuring guest appearances from Chrissy Teigen, Tan France, Jay Shetty, and José Andrés.