Meghan Markle Follows Royal Pantyhose Protocol for First Time

Meghan Markle made her first public appearance as a newlywed with Prince Harry Tuesday afternoon just three days after tying the knot, and she’s already adhering to royal protocol more so than during their engagement.

While the two attended the garden party for Prince Charles’ 70th birthday, Markle went for a more traditional royal look, stepping out in a pair of pantyhose for the first time.

Nude tights or pantyhose have long been a wardrobe staple of Markle’s sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, and are rumored to be a royal mandate. While the look may be slightly outdated, both Middleton and Princess Diana have rocked the look, so it looks like Markle is falling in line, despite the fact that she’s struck up her own royal style in months past. Even at her engagement announcement, the former Suits actress opted to go sans-hose.

But now that the formalities are all said and done and Markle is officially the Duchess of Sussex, her new title may bring an obligation to follow royal protocol. She appeared in full royal mode at Tuesday’s Buckingham Palace garden party, which honored Charles’ patronages, military affiliations, charities and also paid tribute to the first responders of the terrorist attack at Ariana Grande’s Manchester concert in May 2017.

In addition to the nude, ivory-tinted hose, the duchess wore a pale pink-and-white dress with sheer detailing and a matching pale pink hat that showed off her side chignon — leaving her signature messy bun far, far behind.

Markle donned the messy bun even on her wedding day, although it was covered mostly by her 16-foot veil, with the exception of one strand of hair that received its fair share of attention on social media.

Serge Normant, who created the look, spilled on the duchess’ ‘do while speaking to reporters after the wedding, sharing that the two wanted to create a version of the royal’s signature messy bun.

“It’s a messy bun, we call it,” he said, via Brides. “Messy in a controlled way.”

The stylist focused on “making sure it doesn’t become a whole mess after a few hours” without making the hair look too lacquered.

“I don’t overload the hair with products in general and certainly not on this day,” he explained.

Of the process, Normant noted that he doesn’t like to spend too long on a hairstyle.

“We had to blow dry [her hair] from wet, I would say 45 minutes to an hour,” he said. “Then they did the make-up and then you fiddle around with it a little bit. But it’s not that long. I always tend to try and go as fast as I can at these events. Nobody wants to sit around.”

He added that the bun was well-suited to Markle’s sophisticated personal style.

“Her style is so easy and not contrived,” he explained. “I wasn’t about reinvention. She has a beautiful head of hair and is gorgeous, so it was just easy.”