Inside her California style transformation

Meghan Markle is preparing to call the U.K. home again, but the Duchess of Sussex returning to Britain has a very different style identity from the one she left behind six years ago.

Meghan and Prince Harry are reportedly moving back to Britain with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet for an extended period, establishing a private, non-royal home base while maintaining their properties in Montecito, California, and Portugal.

The move marks a major full-circle moment for the family following their departure from royal life in 2020. And while Meghan will not be returning as a working royal, her new chapter puts the spotlight back on just how dramatically her wardrobe has evolved since she last lived in Britain.

From the polished coat dresses and muted tailoring of her royal years to the linen shirts, denim and relaxed luxury that have come to define her California life, Meghan’s fashion transformation tells a story of its own.

Meghan’s carefully considered royal wardrobe:

When Meghan officially joined the royal family in 2018, her wardrobe quickly adapted to her new role.

Sleek midi dresses, tailored coats, structured separates and classic pumps became staples, while cream, camel, navy, black and other muted shades dominated many of her public appearances.

Her relationship with Givenchy, then under British designer Clare Waight Keller, became particularly significant. Keller designed Meghan’s minimalist wedding gown for her May 2018 wedding to Harry, and the Duchess continued wearing Givenchy for major royal appearances.

For her first solo engagement with Queen Elizabeth II in June 2018, for example, Meghan selected a cream Givenchy cape dress, accessorized with a slim belt, clutch and heels.

Other labels including Stella McCartney, Victoria Beckham, Emilia Wickstead and Dior also became part of her royal rotation.

Years later, Meghan revealed there was a reason behind her restrained color palette.

“Most of the time that I was in the UK I rarely wore colour,” she explained in the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan. Meghan said she deliberately gravitated toward muted shades in an effort to avoid clashing with senior members of the family and to “blend in.” “I’m not trying to stand out here,” she recalled of her thinking at the time.

Color returned as Meghan said goodbye to royal life:

Interestingly, some of Meghan’s boldest royal fashion moments arrived just as her time as a working royal was coming to an end.

During the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s final round of engagements in March 2020, Meghan stepped away from the subdued palette that had defined much of her royal wardrobe.

She wore an electric blue fitted dress by Victoria Beckham to the Endeavour Fund Awards and later made a memorable final appearance as a senior working royal in an emerald green cape dress by Emilia Wickstead for the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey.

The colorful fashion streak appeared to signal a shift. Meghan later recalled embracing a “rainbow” of color during that final stretch of royal engagements. Soon afterward, Harry and Meghan began their new life in North America.

California brought a more relaxed Meghan:

Once settled in Montecito, Meghan’s wardrobe loosened up considerably. The formal coats, fascinators and traditional royal-event dressing largely disappeared. In their place came crisp button-down shirts, denim, shorts, flowing linen dresses, flats, sandals and wide-brimmed hats.

Her wardrobe remained luxurious, but the styling became considerably more relaxed.

The Duchess has mixed understated pieces with labels including Chanel, Carolina Herrera, Ralph Lauren and Dior, often relying on neutral separates and classic accessories rather than the head-to-toe formality required by royal engagements.

The change was especially visible in Harry & Meghan, where viewers saw Meghan at home in California wearing denim shorts, casual shirts, Ugg boots, Birkenstocks and loose linen dresses.

Vogue dubbed the shift Meghan’s “freedom style,” noting the return of elements that had been part of her wardrobe before she became a royal. Her glamorous side didn’t disappear either.

Away from royal protocol, Meghan has been able to experiment with bolder red carpet silhouettes, from the striking red Carolina Herrera gown she wore to the 2021 Salute to Freedom Gala to colorful and more contemporary evening looks for awards shows, galas and appearances alongside Harry.

The Meghan returning to Britain is different:

Now, six years after the Sussexes relocated to California, Meghan’s wardrobe is coming full circle along with her family. There is one major difference this time around, Meghan is not returning to Britain as a working member of the royal family.

Reports surrounding the Sussexes’ move have made clear that Harry and Meghan will remain private, non-working royals. Their new residence will also be a private home rather than a royal property.

That means the Duchess will not be stepping back into the same fashion environment she navigated between 2018 and 2020.

Instead, her recent wardrobe suggests the California influence is likely to remain a defining part of her personal style, even as Britain becomes a much bigger part of her family’s everyday life.

The weather might require a few more coats, but the Meghan returning to the U.K. has already spent six years defining how she wants to dress outside the confines of royal life. And this time, she won’t have to blend in.