Queen Camilla made a bold style statement for the first day of the Royal Ascot horse racing festival with King Charles on Tuesday, wearing an elegant white coat and dress ensemble designed by the Paris fashion house of Christian Dior.
The queen's deviation from her usual patronage of British-based designers comes as Dior has made recent efforts to distance themselves from her step daughter-in-law, Meghan Markle.
Reports, which began in Britain on Sunday, suggested Meghan was on the brink of becoming the "Duchess of Dior" by signing a multi-million dollar contract to become a brand ambassador.
After repeated speculation over the following days—which followed the announcement last week that the royal's lucrative partnership with streaming giant Spotify had collapsed—Dior denied having had any recent contact with the California-based duchess.
Fashion trade publication, Women's Wear Daily wrote on Tuesday (the day Camilla stepped out in her Dior look) that: "A spokesman for Dior in Paris told WWD the reports are unfounded, stressing there have been no contract negotiations or recent contact with Markle."
Meghan has previously been linked to Dior, having worn a number of their designs to high-profile royal events, the most recent being Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee service of thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral in London on June 3, 2022.
The duchess first debuted a Dior look in July 2018, just two months after her marriage to Prince Harry. This consisted of a black day dress with matching accessories worn to the Royal Air Force centenary celebrations in London.
On Tuesday, Camilla's attendance at Royal Ascot with King Charles followed a long tradition of monarchs attending the festival, which lasts for several days. 2023 marks the first time the event has been held since the death of Queen Elizabeth in September 2022, and the new queen paid tribute to her late mother-in-law by wearing an inherited art deco diamond shell brooch.
Though the timing of Camilla's choice of a Dior look for Ascot is notable given the discourse surrounding Meghan and the brand, the new monarch established a relationship with the fashion house pre-dating Meghan's marrying into the royal family.
Camilla's first major link with Dior came in 2013, when she was photographed visiting the house's famous atelier and showroom during a visit to Paris, on her first solo overseas trip as a member of the royal family.
The royal was seen animatedly chatting with seamstresses and executives and a year later Camilla wore a chic white Dior coat and dress on a visit to France to mark the 70th anniversary of the D-Day landings in Normandy.
Though perhaps not widely known for her fashion choices, Camilla has branched out from her regular British designers, such as Bruce Oldfield and Fiona Clare, to add pieces from international designers to her wardrobes.
The queen has a fondness for Chanel handbags (the intertwined double "C" logo said to be reminiscent of Charles and Camilla's initials) and also brands such as Bottega Veneta and Fendi.
Camilla and Meghan are not the only royals to have looked to Christian Dior for style inspiration. The house, founded by its namesake in 1946, has counted a number of Windsor's among its client list.
Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth II's younger sister, was a dedicated client in the 1950s and had her 21st birthday dress made by the designer in Paris, which was photographed by Cecil Beaton and later given to the Victoria and Albert Museum.
Perhaps the most influential British royal client the house has had to date is Princess Diana, who wore the brand in the 1990s after her separation from the then-Prince Charles.
In 1995, the princess was given a prototype handbag from the designer as an official gift during a working visit to Paris. Diana wore the bag on a number of occasions and liked it so much she ordered more, with one commission made in a shade of deep blue to match her eyes. This was worn with a full Dior look to the Met Gala in 1996.
After the princess' death, the fashion house renamed the bag in her honor as the "Lady Dior"—paying tribute to her maiden name of "Lady Diana Spencer."
Newsweek approached Buckingham Palace via email for comment.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on 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.
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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
