Meghan Markle Makes Herself At Home In Marks & Spencer

When it was announced that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle would be moving back to the UK, there was widespread speculation about how their lifestyle would change. Which schools would they send their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, to? Where in England would they choose to live? This magazine, however, focused its interest on fashion. An Hermès Oran sandal might work in the perennially sun-soaked climate of Montecito, but less so on the puddled pavements of an autumnal Britain.

The theories ranged from “Le Bon Shoppe tracksuits, nice tops and ‘in from the garden’ shoes, like Birkenstocks or Blundstone clogs” – in keeping with the country casuals of the Cotswolds set, among whom the couple are rumoured to have settled – to her existing rotation of “Citizens of Humanity 90s French high-waisted straight leg jeans and shirts from With Nothing Underneath”. Few could have predicted quite how well she would re-assimilate, though. This week, the Duchess was photographed at west London’s The Park restaurant with her hairstylist, George Northwood, wearing a peak-lapel tuxedo jacket and ankle-length, straight-leg jeans, both from Marks & Spencer. A Chanel camera bag hung from her shoulder, while the jeans skimmed a pair of nude Jennifer Chamandi heels.

You do sort of wonder how one of the most famous women in the world might already have bent to the whims of the British high street. Then again, the Duchess has form here: she previously set the tills ringing with a navy bell-sleeved M&S jumper, and wore its double-crepe bodycon dress to the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in 2018. The brand, meanwhile, is no longer just a destination for American tan tights, as demonstrated by its first-ever catwalk show during London Fashion Week. There, Markle’s exact jacket – based on a men’s sample from the 1940s – surfaced on the back of Devyn Garcia. Though no longer a working royal, Markle has long used fashion as a form of diplomacy. It makes sense that her homecoming wardrobe should fly the flag for the British high street.