Meghan Markle’s Team Breaks Silence on Claims She Kept An Expensive Gown From Photo Shoot
Despite leaving the royal life in 2020, Meghan Markle still finds herself in constant public and media scrutiny. Now, questions around her wardrobe are making headlines, not for their glamour quotient but for something far more questionable. A recent report has claimed that the Duchess of Sussex walked away from a 2022 photo shoot with a designer dress that did not belong to her. Given the nature of the claims, the situation caused more than a ripple online, prompting her team to step in for damage control before the story gathered further steam.
The controversy began when viewers spotted Markle wearing a familiar one-shoulder green Galvan gown in the trailer for her upcoming Netflix special, With Love, Meghan: Holiday Celebration. The gown, priced at $1,695, had also been seen in her 2022 Variety photoshoot, leading some to imply that she had kept the outfit without clearance. Those claims quickly reached her representatives, who were in no mood to let the rumor mill run unchecked. A spokesperson of the Duchess told PEOPLE that such speculation had no basis whatsoever. "The insinuation that any items were taken without the full knowledge and agreement of the on-set stylists or their respective teams is not only categorically false but also highly defamatory," the spokesperson said.
They also added that anything she kept from the photoshoot was done "in total transparency and in accordance with contractual arrangements." People who are familiar with this practice also echoed the same thing, noting that retaining certain outfits or garments after a shoot is neither unusual nor improper. In the case of members of the royal family, it can be a practical matter, given that the outfits worn by them have often been targeted for resale or unauthorized auction. So, allowing her to keep the clothing can be a straightforward safeguard.
Markle’s history with fashion has long been under scrutiny. During her period as a working royal, she followed the same rules as every other member of the royal family and could not accept clothing for free. Before her 2018 wedding with Prince Harry, she paid for her own wardrobe, and once she married into the family, her outfits for official engagements were funded by then-Prince Charles, which was standard procedure at the time.
Though her team was quick to refute the allegations, Markle has continued to set the media humming these past few months. Firstly, her appearance at Kris Jenner’s Beverly Hills birthday bash had both the media and royal watchers doing a double take. The disappearing images of the Sussexes from Jenner’s and Kim Kardashian’s Instagram pages only added more fuel to the fire. And if that weren’t enough, her recent sit-down with a Harper’s Bazaar journalist lifted the curtain on what many saw as the depths of her self-importance.
Journalist Kaitlyn Greenidge, who wrote Markle’s Harper’s Bazaar profile, recounted the scene from an Upper East Side townhouse where she met the Duchess. A house manager formally announced, “Meghan, Duchess of Sussex," and Greenidge noted that, despite the two of them appearing to be alone, the formality of the introduction echoed across the empty rooms.