Meghan Markle’s glam polo outfit raises Netflix
A very dressed-up Meghan Markle appeared at Prince Harry’s charity match and gave a rare performance of PDA. But all may not be as it seemed.
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Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and sometimes a hat is much more than a hat. Even a casual glance through the dozens and dozens of new photos that have come out of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex today, shots taken at a charity polo match hosted by her and husband Prince Harry over the weekend, and the very first thing anyone will notice is The Hat.
There, perched on top of the former HRH’s perfectly coiffured locks was a scene-stealing wide-brimmed statement black hat, the dramatic likes of which we have not seen her wearing since she escaped the clutches of royal life.
Overall, the combination of The Hat, paired with a polka dot shirt, $1118 pleated shorts from New York brand Khaite, $887 Aquazurra heels and a perfect red lip, the 40-year-old actress-turned-royal-turned-Netflix-hire looked every bit the Californian starlet. (Less fortunate comparisons immediately popped up on social media including to the horrible stepmother in the Parent Trap and to My Fair Lady’s Eliza Doolittle.)
But, is anyone buying this over-the-top getup?
Did Meghan simply wake up and decide that some old school Hollywood glamour was the order of the day given she was going to present the winners’ trophies? Or was she, Cecil B. DeMille-style, simply getting ready for her close-up?
That’s a question no one would have asked last week but only days ago Page Six broke the news that the couple are supposedly working on “‘at-home with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex-style’ docuseries” for Netflix as part of their reported $140 million arrangement with the streaming giant.
(Obviously an “at-home” series, watching the couple squabble over who finished the last of the macadamia milk or whose turn it is to use the downstairs Tibetan chanting room, is a far cry from the lofty content they promised way back in September 2020 when their Netflix deal was first revealed by the New York Times. Strangely the Grey Lady is yet to report on the duke and duchess’ foray into what sounds awfully like reality TV territory.)
So, was Meghan’s uber glam show on the weekend just that? A made-for-TV moment?
Despite having been photographed at polo matches for years, we have never seen a look like this before.
Exhibit A) If you spend far too long staring at the dozens and dozens of shots of Meghan taken at Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club and one thing is blazingly obvious – the vast majority of the other people in attendance were not wearing anything even remotely as dressy as her. There were white shirts, an occasional hoodie and sun dresses galore but no other attendee, male or female, was as done up to the nines.
Fellow attendee Rebel Wilson posted images of herself at the event showing her wearing jeans and a blazer while in photos shared on Delfina Blaquier’s Instagram account, Blaquier being the wife of Harry’s polo teammate Nacho Figueras, opted for an unassuming patterned dress and a straw hat with what looked like a hole in it.
Exhibit B) Polo has long been a part of the Sussexes’ lives. In 2017 when Meghan, then a royal girlfriend, first attended a few chukkas with her boyfriend she wore chic tailored black dress and wedges.
The following year at the same event, she wore a patterned sundress, sandals and a Panama hat on one day andon another, black jeans with a white shirt with ballet flats.
Later, appearing at a fundraising match for Harry’s Sentebale Polo Cup in a simple navy Carolina Herrera dress.
n 2019, when Meghan attended the polo in July with a newborn Archie she opted for a relaxed linen Lisa Marie Fernandez frock.
On each of these occasions, she looked, quite simply, fabulous. And on each of these occasions, she looked nowhere near as styled-to-within-an-inch-of-her-life as this week’s outing.
Exhibit C) The last two times we have seen Harry and Meghan make very public forays - in September and November in New York - images have later appeared showing cameras following the couple.
And likewise, on each of these occasions, including when they visited Ground Zero, the UN, appeared on stage at a Global Citizen concert in Central Park and walked the red carpet at a Veteran’s Day gala, we saw the duchess similarly done up in head-to-toe designer clobber with not a blow dried hair out of place. (Say what you will about the 40-year-old but she has to be one of the most photogenic people on the planet.)
I hear you there at the back asking, does this actually matter? Is it of any consequence if they were followed by a crew on the weekend? That Meghan looked like she had spent hours in hair and makeup before venturing forth?
And the answer is yes, it does.
Because this all goes to the issue of trust.
Now that all signs point to Harry and Meghan filming a “docuseries,” can we believe what we see? Having reportedly crossed over into what sounds a lot like reality TV world, can we ever take what we see them doing, saying or wearing at face value?
Sure, there’s an argument to be made that inviting cameras along for the ride is one way to attract attention to the causes they care deeply about, including mental health and gender equality, but a more insidious consequence is that going down this route undermines their personal motivation.
In the months to come, every time we see them taking part in any sort of humanitarian outing, conference, kaffeeklatsch, gabfest or charity do, the question will be, are they doing it for altruistic reasons or because it will make good TV?
(Neither the Sussex camp or Netflix has confirmed the Page Six report however neither have they denied it which is notable given how hastily the duke and duchess have sent out legal letters in the past when the press has published spurious claims.)
Take Sunday’s polo match which was in aid of local charities. Was inviting a second string Hollywood stars really the most effective best way to raise money? Or did it simply make for more compelling viewing? Harry and Meghan working the phones to hit up their moneyed chums for donations might be more effective in terms of dollars but it would hardly make for binge-worthy content.
Whether Harry and Meghan’s polo jaunt was caught by a camera crew or not, the fact that there is no reason not to believe that they are doing a ‘docuseries’ sticks in the craw and badly.
When the couple spoke to Oprah Winfrey last year they very clearly called out the British press and pointed a finger at Fleet Street’s rapacious interest in the couple as a key factor in them quitting royal life.
Similarly, when Harry was interviewed by TV host James Cordern, he said: “We all know what the British press can be like and it was destroying my mental health.
“I was like, this is so toxic …. But we never walked away as far as I’m concerned whatever decisions were made on that side – I will never walk away. I will always be contributing, my life is public service, wherever I am in the world it’s going to be the same thing.”
And yet here we are, the couple seemingly throwing open the doors to their private world when a billion-dollar company wanders along with their bulging chequebook.
If this ‘docuseries’ is indeed a reality TV series in wolf’s clothing then they will have essentially sold their private lives to the highest bidder.
In February 2021, after the Queen ruled that they had to give up their royal patronages, the Sussexes’ put out a tetchy statement including the barbed line, “service is universal.” In this they are correct - no one needs a title to try and make the world that smidge of a better place.
But how does that ostensible commitment to “service” tally with this new world where they are filming an “at-home” TV show?”
As Harry adamantly told Cordern, “my life is public service” but is it? No matter how noble his intentions and pure his heart, how can anyone’s life be ‘dedicated to service’ when they have huge deals Spotify and Netflix to fulfil, a memoir to write, a day job as the Chief Impact Officer for a Silicon Valley unicorn, a gig as an ‘impact partner’ with a Wall Street investment firm, have to help organise the successful Invictus Games, and are a part of the Aspen Institute’s Commission on Information Disorder?
There are only a finite number of hours in the day, even if your grandmother happens to be Queen and you have a house full of staff.
Sigh. This all feels like such a mess.
At least mess and mayhem makes for great TV. That and a massive black hat.
Daniela Elser is a royal expert and a writer with more than 15 years experience working with a number of Australia’s leading media titles.
Originally published as Meghan Markle’s glam polo outfit raises Netflix
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