Meghan Markle Wears Prada to Awards Ceremony at Buckingham Palace

Meghan Markle attended the Queen’s Young Leaders Awards Ceremony honouring influential changemakers in the fields of education and mental health ranging from ages 18-29 earlier this evening in a soft blush-coloured skirt Prada skirt suit. Markle paired the prim suit with shiny pantyhose and skyscraper black slingback heels. Her hair was styled in a perfectly sleek wavy blowout, a contrast to the elegantly mussy updo that’s become her signature hairstyle.

Markle gazed on lovingly as her newlywed husband Prince Harry addressed the crowd in his capacity as official Youth Ambassador for the organization. “I guess you can say you’re stuck with me,” he told the evening’s participants. “I, together with my wife Meghan, look forward to convening young people from around the Commonwealth to hear your ideas, work with you to build platforms for you to collaborate and form partnerships, and continue to meet with many of you as we travel around in our work on behalf of the royal family.”

Markle’s polished and demure look stood in contrast to the loose-fitting dresses she’s been wearing lately, from her Givenchy wedding dress to the Oscar de la Renta toile gown she wore to the wedding of Princess Diana’s niece Celia McCorquodale, and seemed to channel the private, buttoned-up quality of sister-in-law Kate Middleton.

Middleton’s style is defined by her preference for markers of traditional femininity: dresses, long hair worn loose and those indispensible L.K. Bennett nude pumps. She exudes a well-groomed, preppy/formal sensibility with no room for untidiness, whereas Markle has established herself as something of a royal rebel, preferring ripped jeans, sheer dresses and preference for messy buns.

However, since she began ‘duchess lessons’ under supervision of the Queen, Markle appears to have scaled back her rebellion and gone in a more prudish direction with her outfits. Specifically, this Prada skirt suit adheres to a demure sensibility that’s been demonstrated by political wives before her, most notably Jackie O.

Here’s hoping that despite the fact the pantyhose aren’t going anywhere, Markle hasn’t given up on her inner rebellious spirit.