What You Didn’t Know About Meghan Markle’s Wedding Car

The vehicle that escorted Meghan Markle and her mother to St. George’s Chapel for the royal wedding was previously used for a much more somber event, and some believe the selection may have been a jab at the newest royal.

On May 19, then soon-to-be royal Meghan Markle was ushered away to St. George’s Chapel alongside her mother, Doria Loyce Ragland, in a Rolls-Royce Phantom IV that the Royal Mews had sent. According to the Daily Mail, that same Rolls-Royce was used to transport Wallis Simpson to the funeral of her husband, the Duke of Windsor, in 1972.

While that fact alone does not seem to cause much controversy, the fact that Simpson was an American divorcee, just like Markle, seemed to be an apparent jab. Simpson’s marriage to King Edward III in 1937 was also responsible for rocking the Royal Family and plunging the monarchy into a crisis, as he had abdicated in December 1936 after he was told he would not be able to both be king and marry Simpson.

This would not be the first time that Markle has been the victim of poor taste within the Royal Family. Princess Michael of Kent wore a blackmoor broach to the Queen’s annual pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace, where she first met Markle, whose mother id descended from slaves.

The brooch depicted a dark-skinned man wearing a turban. As a piece of blackmoor jewelry, it could be seen as a symbol of racial conquest, as the jewelry line is also reportedly known for depicting people of color in positions of servitude and are considered racially insensitive.

A spokesperson later state that Princess Michael was “very sorry and distressed” that she had worn the racially insensitive brooch, while another source claimed that the Princess had not intended to insult Markle and that she was retiring the brooch.

Markle has made plenty of her own fashion statements since joining the Royal Family, most notably her custom wedding gown from Givenchy, which featured three-quarter length sleeves
and an open bateau neckline as well as a 16-foot-long that was adorned with the flora of all 53 countries of the Commonwealth.

She has also drawn comparisons to sister-in-law Kate Middleton following her first Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, which was held just three days after the royal wedding to celebrate Prince Charles’ 70th birthday. Markle opted to wear Goat Fashion’s “rose-pink” “Flavia” pencil dress and a custom Philip Treacy hat, which she paired with diamond rose earrings and a Wilbur & Gussie clutch.