The Princess of Wales and Duchess of Sussex are often praised for their trend-setting styles and while in many ways they keep ahead of the trends, they have both experimented with a traditional royal accessory once thought to have fallen out of fashion.
On February 16, Meghan turned heads at the Hillcrest Community Centre in Vancouver, Canada, where she attended the Invictus Games One Year To Go Winter Training Camp with Prince Harry, wearing a striking winter outfit.
The duchess wrapped up warm at the sidelines of an ice-rink in a large, belted wrap-coat with shawl collar designed by the Canadian label, Sentaler. She paired with the coat some of her favorite black jeans by La Ligne and black riding boots by the Los Angeles-based brand, Co.
To complete her look, Meghan harked back to the golden age of fashion and linking to historic royal women with the classic accessory of a pair of elbow-length, beige suede gloves from Max Mara.
The inclusion of gloves for this look elevated the ensemble with an added layer of drama, something Meghan has relied on in past outfits for important moments, and so too has sister-in-law, Kate.
Gloves are a classic accessory which were once used by all royal women, in particular the late Queen Elizabeth II, who is said to have carried an extra pair of clean gloves in her purse in case the ones she religiously wore to meet members of the public became soiled.
There are a number of theories as to why the queen stuck to wearing gloves despite them falling out of everyday fashion in the 1960s. One is that they reduced the risk of contracting common colds or viruses through the shaking of hands, of which she did hundreds of times on an average week.
Another is that she was simply a creature of habit, abiding by the style signature she set for herself as a young woman in the 1940s and 1950s.
Elizabeth's daughter, Princess Anne, followed her mother's penchant for fine gloves, and can still be seen wearing them for her everyday engagements, however by the 1980s, it would be Princess Diana who famously put them to the back of her royal wardrobe for regular wear.
In a radical move after marrying the then-Prince Charles in 1981, Diana reportedly surprised some royals and fashion followers by meeting and greeting members of the public bare handed.
The gesture removed a layer of formality between herself and the people. Most famously too, the absence of gloves sent a strong personal and political message in 1987, when she was photographed shaking hands with an AIDS patient.
The misinformed viewpoint that the HIV virus could be contracted by touch was still prevalent at the time and this gesture sent a strong message that if the future queen could do it, then others could too.
Though gloves were removed from Diana's royal everyday wear, she reserved the right to occasionally use them in more inventive ways with event and eveningwear, something her daughters-in-law also now do.
Kate, who took over Diana's Princess of Wales title in 2022, has worn gloves on several occasions since her marriage to Prince William in 2011, but most strikingly to the BAFTA Film Awards in 2023.
In an avant-garde move, the princess styled an elegant white Alexander McQueen evening gown with a pair of dramatic opera-length black velvet gloves, creating a striking contrast and earning praise from the fashion press.
Meghan, in addition to her Canadian outing has worn gloves for several other high-profile engagements, including the Platinum Jubilee thanksgiving service for Elizabeth in 2022.
For the event, the duchess wore an haute couture coat dress ensemble designed by the Paris fashion house of Christian Dior. To accessorize Meghan wore a sculpted white hat with white shoes and an elegant pair of mid-length white gloves.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more
