“She Didn’t Look Very Good” | Meghan Markle Defends Her Fashion Choices After Australia Backlash

A devastating blow for the Sussexes as Meghan Markle is dumped by the fashion event of the year, the Met Gala in New York.Let's get reaction from the brilliant royal biographer and journalist, the editor of Majesty magazine, Ingrid Seward.Good morning, Ingrid.Good morning.Ingrid, we'll get to the brilliant, brilliant royal trip to the United States.A brilliant performance, not just from the King, but Camilla as well.

But can we talk about the absence of the Duchess of Sussex from the Met Gala?That's going to sting.

Well, I read yesterday that she's just very disliked by the people that hold the golden key to getting into the gala, and that's basically Anna Wintour.I think Anna Wintour did sort of give her the hand of friendship in the beginning, but she is the, as former editor of Vogue and now overall sort of champion of fashion.She runs the Met Gala as her own private party, I think, in a way.And if she doesn't want Meghan there, Meghan won't be there.And it is a blow, because even if Meghan didn't want to go, she needs the kudos of being seen there, because that would really up her rate and make her a proper person in the fashion world, because that's what she's trying to do when she sells her rather tacky clothes off the back of some visit she's doing, you know, purporting to be a quasi -royal.And then everything she's wearing is for sale.

I mean, it's a clever idea, but I don't think it's a very elegant idea.

No, and this will hurt the Duchess, won't it?Because she likes to think that she has connections in the fashion world.She, of course, attended Paris Fashion Week.As you said, she has ambitions in the world of fashion retail.This is an

important project for her and she's been thwarted at what is the biggest event of the year well I'm sure I mean we don't we read that she's been thwarted maybe she never even wanted to go but I absolutely agree with you.She needs to be seen there because it will give her the kudos to flog her own brand.And she's always been very interested in fashion.In fact, she is a very stylish dresser.But I thought the clothes that she was flogging off, you know, wearing on their trip were actually pretty ordinary.And I don't think she looked very good in them.

And I just think it's just somehow It's just really wrong for her to be trying to sell clothes off her back.I think that's, you know, for anyone to do that, it's fine.But if you're sort of purporting to be a royal princess, which, like it or not, she still is.Yes.I just, I just think it's very tacky.

Yes.Her strategy doesn't appear entirely coherent, does it?And I'm not sure who advised her to meet victims of the awful Bondi Beach atrocity and to sell those exact clothes that she was wearing whilst hugging victims on the internet minutes later?

Well, I very much understand that Meghan doesn't take advice.Meghan only does what Meghan wants.And she obviously either didn't think it through or didn't think it mattered.I don't think she would have taken any advice.Somebody might have given her that advice.But, you know, she does what she wants, as we well know.

And is there a theme emerging here, Ingrid, of celebrities and important figures in the world of business and entertainment ditching the Sussexes?Because we know that Harry and Meghan were close for example to Elton John and David Furnish back in the day, well that seems to have gone cold.Lots of other celebrities, the Obamas, the Cloonies, Oprah Winfrey,Gwyneth Paltrow.It seems like this couple engage famous people and then lose them.I could also throw in the Kardashians with whom they fell out last year over Kris Jenner's 70th birthday celebrations.

Absolutely.I think that Harry and Meghan, or particularly Meghan, let's say, feels that these celebrities need her.They need her to give them a bit of burnish.And actually, of course, they don't need her at all.And the minute that she does something to irritate them, they dump her because they don't want to be seen to being attached to someone that's so undeniably unpopular, especially in Hollywood.

Well yes, it really surprised me when her Netflix show was announced, With Love Megan Ingrid, that didn't feature a single household name celebrity.I mean, I expected Elton to turn up for a latte, or the Obamas, or the Cloonies, or whoever you like.Serena Williams, of course.There are plenty of others who were absolutely noticeably absent from that TV show.The only supposedly big name she had was a woman called Chrissy Teigen, who was a notorious internet troll.

I must say, I couldn't face watching all that.I mean, I did try and watch it obviously professionally, but it was just so nauseating.I just thought this is just ridiculous.

I know, Ingrid, I know your body is a temple, but did it turn you to drink?

No, it didn't turn me to drink.But I just thought, what is this all about?What is this woman trying to do?It's all so fake.And she just doesn't have that kind of warm personality that I feel that you need when you're trying to show people your cooking skills.

How do you think Charles and Camilla's trip to the United States will have gone down in Montecito, California?There were rumours from the royal journalist Rob Shooter that Harry didn't watch his father's speech to both houses of Congress.Any thoughts on how the Sussexes viewed that trip?

I really have to say I don't know how they viewed that trip.And as to Harry not watching his father's speech to Congress, I don't see how anyone would know that unless Harry told them.But I actually can't imagine that Harry probably would watch his father's speech to Congress because I don't know.It's a long time to concentrate, 20 minutes.I just, I don't know.I mean, maybe he's just so annoyed with the whole issue.

He just didn't take any of the trip in.I actually wish I could tell you I knew, but I don't know.

Well, that's right.We can't confirm Rob Shooter's exclusive from his Substack column, although are you suggesting that a 20 -minute speech is a little bit of a stretch for Harry's intellect?

Well, I think to watch his father give probably one of the best speeches of his life, to Congress and Harry not even be anywhere near it.I just don't think it would be something he would want to watch.

We'll come to King Charles in just a moment.One final thought on the Sussexes.Where does their brand go from here?Because I would argue it's been a rather bumpy 2026 already so far.I think, in my view, Ingrid, the trip to Australia was an unmitigated disaster.Meghan called herself the most trolled person in the world.

I'd argue she's the troll.and then Harry complained indirectly about Charles' parenting duties.They pitched up at a children's hospital and had selfies with cancer patients and they were hugging members of...Bondi Beach, victims of Bondi Beach whilst at the same time flogging their clothes online.So what do you think for the rest of the year for the Sussexes?Do you think that things can improve?

I think probably things have to improve for the Sussexes, but they didn't see this trip to Australia as a disaster.They saw it as a huge success.So we're batting on different teams all the time.I mean, they think they've done really well there.And they probably Australia, I think, rather enjoyed them because they're a bit of a, you know, ooh, Harry and Meghan, let's go and have a look and see what they're doing now, is the attitude.So I'm not sure about what the Sussexes will do, but apparently they're going to do more of these tours because then Meghan, of course, can flog some more of her clothes.

Yikes.Well, let's stay on the positives now, Ingrid, because it was a pitch -perfect performance from King Charles, both addressing the two Houses of Congress and also his speech at a White House dinner, and perhaps the unsung heroine of the whole trip, Queen Camilla.

the King relies on Queen Camilla.When he was giving his speech to Congress, I'm sure everyone that was interested probably noticed, well, after he'd finished and there was this huge rounds of applause and he looked at her and she smiled at him and I thought that was a very telling moment.She's always done that.She's always said, darling, you were wonderful and basically well we all like that but I think the king in particular loves you know loves a bit of flattery and Camilla is is his best friend as well as being his wife and his queen.

He's a very intelligent man and he's a very principled man too.but he's an awkward character at times and it seems that Camilla handles him perfectly.

I think that the Queen, the late Queen, Queen Elizabeth II was sure that with Camilla by his side he would manage to be a great king.I think it gave her a lot of satisfaction to see Camilla there.And that's why she actually said, you know, Queen Consort, because, you know, Camilla might well have been happier being Queen Consort rather than being an anointed queen, because it just, it's an extra weight on her shoulders.And she's, you know, she's relatively new to this world.I mean, it sounds silly, but she is relatively new.It's true, and she never craved being queen.

It's just that she loved Charles.

She never did.No, and she wasn't born into it.She was 50 years old when she really came into the centre of the royal world.And also, she doesn't have the energy of the Windsors.I mean, we've seen what energy Charles has.And he, you know, he bounces from one thing to the other.

And apparently even on the plane over to Bermuda, he's reading his boxes.He is a workaholic with that Windsor energy.I always remember writing years ago that the Windsors don't walk anywhere.They run everywhere.

Well, we run when you're on the show, Ingrid, because we love having you on the programme.One of the finest journalists in the world on royal matters.Ingrid, have a good Sunday.We'll speak soon.Ingrid Seward, royal biographer and the editor of Majesty magazine.