OFF THE RACK

The Bizarre Reason Meghan Markle Says She ‘Kept’ a $1,700 Designer Dress

The duchess’s camp claims she only kept a gown from a photoshoot to save it from creepy superfans—an explanation the fashion world greeted with universal side-eye.

The Duchess of Sussex’s team have angrily denied a story that she stole clothes from a fashion shoot.

However, they appear to have inadvertently confirmed in the process that Meghan does take fashion freebies—in contrast to the working royal family, who say they never accept them. Sources told The Royalist that not being allowed to keep free clothes was cited as an irritation for Meghan when she was a working royal.

Sources in Meghan’s camp, meanwhile, justified her keeping the green gown—which she wore during a 2022 Variety photoshoot—by suggesting she did so to prevent insiders on the shoot from illicitly selling it on to memorabilia hunters.

They said this was “standard practice”—a claim derided by fashion insiders The Royalist spoke to.

In a rare on-the-record statement, Meghan’s spokesperson flat-out denied a report in Page Six that she “kept” a $1,700 emerald-green from the British fashion brand Galvan after the shoot “without asking.” The green dress subsequently appeared in a trailer for her forthcoming Netflix holiday special.

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The spokesperson told The Royalist that the Page Six story was “defamatory” and hinted at possible legal action. “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. Any items kept were done so in total transparency and in accordance with contractual arrangements,” the spokesperson said.

However, in a follow-up that raised eyebrows even further, a source close to Meghan justified her keeping the dress by saying she had done so to prevent it from being sold on in an “unauthorized auction.”

The source claimed it was “standard practice” for celebrities to “keep select items” to prevent such sales, describing the practice as both “commonplace and prudent.”

Multiple fashion sources—photographers, stylists, editors—told The Royalist, however, that this was not the case.

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“It’s pretty clear she just wanted the dress and kept it,” a stylist who has worked with the royal family claimed. “I’m sure the designer agreed. How could they not? What’s interesting is that she doesn’t say she paid for it.”

In 2024, journalist Vanessa Grigoriadis claimed on Andrew Gold’s “Heretics” podcast that Meghan took “a lot of stuff” after a high-profile photoshoot. “What’s shocking about hearing these kinds of alleged stories is that somebody living in a $15-million-plus mansion in Montecito, who’s had $100-million deals, would care enough to take home some jewelry and clothes from a photoshoot she can afford,” Grigoriadis said.

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Tom SykesEuropean Editor at Large

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