Becoming a royal sounds great and all, but given the long list of rules they have to follow, it sort of loses its appeal.
Well, now there’s another rule to be aware of, and it’s making us confused AF.
Becoming a royal may sound cool, but it does come with a few strings attached.
And by strings, we mean a very longggg list of strict royal rules.
Recently, royal etiquette expert Myka Meier recently broke them down in an interview with news.com.au .
She began by saying that female royals must wear nude stockings while working (i.e attending events).
It’s a rule the Queen stands by most.
“It’s very traditional for female members to wear them,” Meier explained.
“During the day it is something that’s seen as the most conservative, the most formal, the most professional in the role as a working royal.”
In addition to that, the women can’t even dress themselves for big events.
Meghan Markle may be a fashionista in her own right, but when it comes to big events, she’s not the one making the decisions on what she wears.
Instead, both Kate and Meghan have their own team of aides who help them dress.
“They have a team who know what is appropriate for the event they’re attending, and Meghan especially would be given a lot of advice on (what to choose),” the founder of Beaumont Etiquette said.
No wonder we never catch the Duchesses in blue jeans whilst in royal mode.
This next rule makes sense of all the dress-jacket hybrids Kate always wears: royals are not allowed to “disrobe” while working.
And by disrobe, that doesn’t mean getting naked in public, obv, but rather, they’re not allowed to take off their jackets in public.
This definitely begs the question (especially during the summertime): what if they get hot?
Turns out, it doesn’t matter. Rules are rules.
“Whether it’s a blazer or a jacket when all eyes and cameras are on you, working royals are taught not to disrobe in the public eye,” Meier explained.
And now, you might be most surprised at this rule that involves a girl’s best friend:
Diamonds, of course!
According to Meier, royals can only wear finest diamonds after six p.m.
“Other jewels are worn pre-6 p.m.,” Meier told News.com.au .
“Before 6 p.m., you’ll see metallics, gemstones, pearls, sapphires. At night, you’ll see the diamonds come out, and that’s in order to not come across as flashy in your appearance.”
While this does make a bit of sense, let’s not forget that they’re royals; they’re meant to look a little flashy, even if that’s at four p.m.
Since Markle’s wedding ceremony to Harry was during the day, that explains why she was able to wear the Queen’s tiara.
She looked stunning in the Queen’s bandeau tiara , which originally belonged to Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth’s grandmother.
Thankfully, the “Duchess lessons” Markle reportedly underwent surely gave her a crash course on all of these royal rules.
It was reported that the Queen instructed her senior aide, 49-year-old Samantha Cohen, to teach Markle everything there is to know about being a proper Duchess.
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According to the etiquette pros at The English Manner who gave the inside scoop to “InStyle”, this included a lot of do’s and dont’s regarding formal events.
“In terms of etiquette, there may be some advice on ‘British’ traditions such as tea parties and formal banquets,” explained The English Manner Chief Executive, Alexandra Messervy.
Now with this diamond rule in place, we can only hope that Markle shows up to the next family dinner like this:
She does have that Markle sparkle, after all.