Reading Time: 3 minutes
This was a big week for Meghan Markle.
The Duchess of Sussex dropped a new season of With Love, Meghan. She also released a new As Ever product.
Most eye-catching of all was Meghan’s interview.
There, she addressed her dedicated haters, talked business, and recalled the most soul-crushing rules from royal life.
What did Meghan Markle say about pantyhose and protocols?
On Tuesday, August 26, Bloomberg‘s The Circuit with Emily Chang released an in-depth talk with Meghan Markle.
As is often the case with the Duchess’ ventures and statements, there were two very polarized reactions.
For most of the world, the interview was well-received, just as With Love, Meghan has generally favorable reviews in North America.
We cannot say the same when it comes to the British reception.
During the interview, Meghan addressed the topics of relatability and authenticity.
She recalled a time when, living as part of the royal family, she could not be very “vocal” and had to, at essentially all times, wear nude pantyhose.
“I’m just being myself,” Meghan affirmed.
“I think it was probably different several years ago where I couldn’t be as vocal and I had to wear nude pantyhose all the time. Let’s be honest, that’s not very myself.”
“I hadn’t seen pantyhose since movies in the eighties when they came in that little egg,” Meghan Markle remarked.
That sounds about right.
She continued: “That felt a little bit inauthentic, but that’s a silly example. But it is an example of when you’re able to dress the way you wanna dress and you’re able to say the things that are true.”
Meghan added: “And you’re able to show up in the space really organically that’s being comfortable in your own skin.”
Would it surprise anyone to hear that Meghan’s remark about pantyhose protocols is causing monarchy stans across the pond to pitch a fit?
The Sun has characterized this as “yet another dig at the Royal Family.”
A blog that unironically calls itself The Royalist went even further, accusing: “This hosiery detail is a retread of her biggest selling product to date: grievance.”
That blog insists that Meghan should swell with gratitude towards the in-laws who, at best, hung her out to dry while protecting William and Kate at all costs.
Was she making a dig at the royal firm?
Meghan Markle did not really seem to have anything directly negative to say about the royal family. Sure, their rules sucked.
And having a dress code for your everyday life is annoying and infantilizing, even when it doesn’t include old-timey accessories that feel weird and smell weirder.
There are a lot of harsh criticisms that the Duchess could level at the Royal Firm for how she was made a target to distract from William and Kate’s very real scandals.
Instead she’s just acknowledging that she can be more authentic when she’s dressing and speaking how she likes.
Anything else would be dishonest — and these same haters would go after her for that, instead.
