Despite the Royal Family’s Disdain for Princess Diana When She Was Alive, It Regularly Pushed Both Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle to Dress Like Her, New Book Claims

Despite what seemed to be their disdain for her while she was alive—or, at minimum, a lack of understanding of her—Omid Scobie writes in his new book Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival that the Palace pushed both Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle to dress like their late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.

We’ve certainly seen both Kate and Meghan’s sartorial tributes to the former Princess of Wales over the years but assumed that it was because they wanted to pay homage, and not because they were being cajoled to by the so-called powers that be. Kate and Meghan felt “gentle pushes” to replicate Diana’s style, and that decisions to dress Kate and Meghan like Diana were “always discussed” with their respective husbands, Prince William and Prince Harry. (Which is odd in and of itself.) 

“It had been known for someone to go back and pull images of Diana at a certain place or time for ideas,” Scobie writes. “At the right moment, this can be a sweet gesture, but there is also a slightly queasy feeling when you realize it’s often orchestrated within the same system that contributed to her living misery, and an institution that still wants some of Diana’s shine to rub off on them.”

Kate and Meghan “regularly replicated” Diana’s “iconic looks,” and, as anyone who follows Kate and Meghan knows, would often wear accessories “once owned by the late princess.” (Kate wears Diana’s famous sapphire and diamond engagement ring on a daily basis; Meghan often wears a Cartier watch of Diana’s.) And while Scobie said these tributes make sense, he wrote that “while finding a trend untouched by Diana’s iconic style is almost impossible, the huge amount of effort that goes into channeling her exact look sometimes goes beyond the pale.” He added “During the past 13 years, Diana cosplay has become a royal staple.”