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The parallels between the Duchess of Sussex and Princess Diana have often been strikingly familiar, and at a closer look it appears Meghan was borrowing from Diana’s fashion playbook long before she ever crossed paths with Prince Harry.
From red carpet glamour to understated humanitarian chic, Meghan seems to have been walking in Diana’s stylish footsteps for years, as though rehearsing for the role of a lifetime.
Take, for instance, Diana’s visit to the Tongogara Refugee Camp in Zimbabwe in 1993. Wearing a crisp white shirt, sleeves rolled up, and sunglasses clipped neatly at the front, Diana projected effortless elegance while focusing attention on her cause.
Fast-forward to 2016 and Meghan, then still a TV actress, travelled to Rwanda for a clean water campaign.
The images from that trip show her in, you guessed it, a simple white shirt, sunglasses hooked in the same manner, striking a pose that could have been lifted directly from Diana’s portfolio of humanitarian appearances.
The styling, and even the body language, seemed less like coincidence and more like choreography.
It wasn’t the only instance. In 1996, Diana stunned at the Heart Foundation Ball in Sydney wearing a dazzling blue one-shoulder Versace gown. It was bold, glamorous, and unforgettable, a hallmark of her post-divorce confidence.
Almost two decades later, Meghan attended the Equinox Yorkville Dinner in Toronto in 2015. Her outfit? A Roland Mouret dress in the same vibrant shade of blue, with a single shoulder bared, the resemblance was impossible to miss.
Was Meghan paying tribute? Or was she carefully curating an image that would later align seamlessly with the House of Windsor?
The twinning doesn’t stop there. Even their casual looks align. Diana famously wore relaxed denim paired with crisp shirts, a style choice that Meghan often reaches to, presenting an image that feels curiously familiar to anyone who remembers Diana in her off-guard moments.
There were also the pair of revenge dresses, both championing the off the shoulder neckline, Diana’s iconic look made headlines while Meghan’s followed after.
The echoes are too precise to be accidental. Was this simply the influence of a global style icon? Yet more likely it was Meghan already inhabiting the role of a modern Diana, long before she was linked to Harry.
Meghan, who has spoken of admiring Diana, may have strategically crafted her public persona with echoes of the late princess.
What cannot be denied is the sheer frequency of the parallels. From Rwanda to Toronto, from classic tailoring to red carpet gowns, Meghan’s fashion archive before Harry often looks like a curated homage to Diana’s most memorable ensembles.
And once she stepped onto the royal stage, those echoes only intensified, with many public appearances in outfits reminiscent of her late mother-in-law’s choices.
The evidence, at least sartorially, is compelling. Whether it was conscious imitation, subconscious influence, or simply the enduring reach of Diana’s style, Meghan’s early wardrobe seems to suggest a woman rehearsing for a role in the royal spotlight.
Off the Shoulder Revenge Dress
Meghan – Suits Fashion Show, High Line in New York 2012
Diana – Serpentine Gallery 1994
Stepping out for a gala at the Serpentine Gallery in 1994, Princess Diana made headlines in her now infamous Christina Stambolian revenge dress. The revealing ensemble hugged her figure and had a daring off the shoulder neckline, both features that Meghan mirrored with her sequin dress in 2012 at a Suits fashion show in New York.