Meghan Markle’s new yr wardrobe shift indicators a transfer in the direction of Princess Catherine’s trend playbook as scrutiny across the Sussexes intensifies.
Meghan Markle ‘copies’ Princess Kate in new yr model overhaul (Picture: Getty)
Meghan Markle’s latest royal wardrobe selections really feel calculated fairly than coincidental, marked by a brand new stage of restraint. As a royal trend skilled, what strikes me most isn’t merely what she’s carrying, however who she seems to be copying. This isn’t imitation for novelty’s sake; it’s a strategic repositioning.
The distinction sharpened final week when Princess Catherine, 44, stepped out in Scotland alongside Prince William, carrying a bespoke Chris Kerr coat. It was basic Catherine: British craftsmanship entrance and centre, structured tailoring, and a muted palette designed to venture authority fairly than development.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attended the XX over the weekend (Picture: Getty )
The Prince And Princess Of Wales Visited Stirling And Falkirk final week, with Catherine rocking blue (Picture: Getty)
Over the previous yr, I’ve watched Princess Catherine double down on a disciplined, heritage-led aesthetic – wealthy materials, managed silhouettes, and a polish that quietly indicators her future as Queen.
So when Meghan , 44, stepped out days later on the Cookie Queens premiere in Salt Lake Metropolis carrying a Heidi Merrick coat in a strikingly related color household, the parallels have been inconceivable to disregard.
The look was clear, tailor-made and intentionally restrained, a pointy departure from the laid-back California model the Duchess has favoured since stepping again from royal life.
As a substitute, it felt firmly rooted within the trend language Catherine now owns, whereas additionally echoing the heritage outerwear Zara Tindall has been championing all winter – most notably at Cheltenham simply 24 hours earlier than Meghan stepped out.
Hair, too, advised it’s personal story, and it spoke volumes. I couldn’t ignore how Meghan’s glossy, smoothed-out styling reduce sharply towards the unfastened, undone waves which have outlined her post-Megxit picture.
This stage of polish is unmistakably Princess Catherine territory – managed, shiny hair that frames the face and by no means distracts from the message.
Catherine has lengthy understood that restraint indicators confidence, which is why Meghan’s sudden embrace of the identical aesthetic feels deliberate fairly than experimental.
The timing solely sharpens the purpose, coming after a tense begin to the brand new yr for the Sussexes. Prince Harry returned to the UK to provide proof in his authorized battle towards Related Newspapers Restricted (ANL), thrusting the couple again into the British highlight.
The Princess of Wales was snapped in a hanging brown coat on Christmas Day (Picture: Getty)
The sample didn’t cease there. When Meghan stepped out for a second time in Utah carrying a brown Anine Bing coat, the Princess Catherine-coded symbolism was inconceivable for me to overlook.
Brown has quietly grow to be Princess Catherine’s energy color worn on Christmas Day and repeatedly all through 2025.
It’s a shade she’s reworked into shorthand for contemporary royal authority. Meghan entering into that very same palette tells me she’s paying shut consideration to what now carries weight in royal trend optics.
So is Meghan returning to her pre-royal polish? To me, she’s clearly copying the visible framework Princess Catherine has spent years perfecting.
Princess Catherine has championed each brown and burgundy the previous yr (Picture: Getty)
Catherine’s model has by no means been about reinvention; it’s about consistency, credibility and quiet command.
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Meghan’s wardrobe shift tells me she understands that in 2026, polish carries way more energy than rise up ever did.
In royal trend, garments are by no means simply garments – they’re positioning. And proper now, Meghan Markle isn’t dressing to distance herself from the monarchy, however drawing intentionally from its most authoritative visible codes.
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