Meghan Markle made a surprising wardrobe choice today as she continues to tour Australia alongside Prince Harry.
After complaining about having to wear ‘pantyhose’ for official engagements as a working royal, the Duchess of Sussex, 44, donned a pair of semi-sheer black tights under a khaki A-line dress on a sunny day in Melbourne.
Prince Harry and Meghan are currently embarking on a four-day quasi-royal tour of Australia, with an itinerary that includes a mix of charity and business events across the country.
For her visit to Swinburne University, Meghan opted to wear the £286 ‘Anya’ dress from Australian label Friends with Frank, which has since been uploaded to her new AI-powered storefront on the OneOff website.
Meghan finished the look with a pair of Manolo Blahnik pumps and £50 tights from the brand Wolford, after the Duchess criticised royal fashion protocol that women in the Firm should not show their bare legs during official outings.
In an interview with Bloomberg’s Emily Chang last August, Meghan said wearing the sheer tights ‘felt a little bit inauthentic’ and that she ‘hadn’t seen pantyhose since movies in the 80s’.
While promoting the second series of her Netflix show, With Love, Meghan, she told Emily that she is ‘just being herself’, before appearing to take a dig at her former life in the royal fold.
‘It was different several years ago, when I couldn’t be as vocal and I had to wear nude pantyhose all the time!’ Meghan said.
‘Let’s be honest, that was not very myself. I hadn’t seen pantyhose since movies in the 80s! That felt a little bit inauthentic.’
Despite this, Meghan was photographed several times with bare legs during her time in the UK, including in her and Prince Harry’s engagement picture that was released in 2017.
Today is Prince Harry and Meghan’s last day in Melbourne before they head to Sydney, where the Duchess is set to headline a £1,400-per-head ‘girls’ weekend’ retreat organised by Her Best Life
For their first engagement, the Sussexes visited Melbourne’s famous Scar Tree Walk as both Harry and Meghan opted for casual looks.
While the Duke was dressed in a blue shirt and trousers, Meghan was spotted wearing a ‘Mama’ t-shirt designed by her best friend Kelly Zajfen.
The $40 white tee with a red heart is now for sale on Meghan’s OneOff page along with the $169 blue jeans, $599 trench and $298 trainers she wore with it at the event honouring Australia’s aboriginal culture.
The dress, tights and jewellery she later wore to Melbourne’s Swinburne University of Technology were also immediately available on OneOff to fans who want her ‘look’, in return for thousands of dollars.
At the university, Prince Harry and Meghan spoke to students about the dangers of social media and its impact on mental health, urging them to be ‘strong’.
The Duchess opened up about being ‘bullied’ online for a decade in a heartfelt moment, as she said: ‘For now, ten years, every day for ten years, I have been bullied and attacked. And I was the most trolled person in the entire world.’
‘I’m still here.’
Prince Harry also made an emotional confession as he declared he never wanted to be a working royal because it ‘killed’ his mother, Princess Diana.
Speaking at the $1,000-a-head InterEdge Summit in Melbourne Park, Harry said he had felt ‘lost, betrayed, or completely powerless’ during his life.
The Duke claimed he had his ‘head in the sand for years and years’ until he quit his role as a working royal and moved to the US with Meghan, suggesting that it is also what his mother Princess Diana would have wanted for him.
‘After my mum died just before my 13th birthday I was like: “I don’t want this job. I don’t want this role wherever this is headed, I don’t like it,” he said.
‘It killed my mum, and I was very much against it, and I stuck my head in the sand for years and years. Eventually I realised – well, hang on, if there was somebody else in this position, how would they be making the most of this platform and this ability and the resources that come with it to make a difference in the world?
‘And also, what would my mum want me to do? And that really changed my own perspective.’
The couple arrived in Melbourne from Los Angeles on Tuesday, but are not accompanied by their children, Archie, six, and Lilibet, four, who are at home in California.
Soon after, it was announced that Meghan had become an investor and participant in OneOff – an AI-powered fashion discovery website, where all her looks from the Australia tour are being uploaded in real time.
These include the $1,250 (£922) ‘Priscilla’ dress from local designer Karen Gee that Meghan wore for a visit to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, as well as the $1,000 (£737) St Agni suede ‘Utility Cocoon Bomber’ jacket she was seen wearing at the Australian National Veterans Arts Museum.
OneOff, an American firm based in Los Angeles, also features photos of Meghan from previous events and at her home with options to buy the clothing she is wearing.
She has a personal page on the site which already works with a series of actresses such as Kate Hudson, Emma Roberts, Shay Mitchell and Suki Waterhouse.
It has also since been announced that Meghan will be guest-starring on the new season of MasterChef Australia, but fans are divided about the Duchess’s cameo.
Channel 10 took to Instagram on Wednesday evening to make the announcement, alongside an image of the Duchess of Sussex smiling proudly alongside judges Jean-Christophe Novelli, Poh Ling Yeow and Sofia Levin.
‘We’re welcoming someone SUPER special into the MasterChef Kitchen,’ the caption began.
‘Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, makes a special guest appearance this season as she returns to Australia for the first time since 2018,’ it continued.
MasterChef Australia also shared footage of the moment Poh introduces Megan to this year’s cast.
Commenters were divided over the appearance, with some saying they would turn off the show.
‘You’ve got to be joking,’ said one stunned fan.
‘There goes (the show’s) credibility right down the drain,’ another wrote.
‘We’re paying so much money for her to be here, while some families don’t even have food on the table.’
But others were thrilled the 44-year-old had joined the program.
‘The wonderful Meghan! A royal treat,’ one said.
Another agreed: ‘Oh I love this! She’s such a beauty’.
‘Very nice. Cooking and presentation were her interest before meeting Harry – she had a blog. Her preparations have been lovely,’ someone else chimed in.
