Meghan Markle Broke a Royal Tradition With Her Outfit Choice At Prince Louis' Christening

American-born Meghan Markle was never a fan of royal protocols, and old pictures and videos from her time across the pond show her disdain for them. One instance was during Prince Louis’s christening when she turned heads with her outfit choice. The Duchess wore a dark olive-green ensemble for her nephew’s christening, which stood out as royal members typically wear neutral colors for such an event.

While Markle is no longer required to conform to stringent royal protocols now, at the time, as a senior member of the family, she didn’t quite get the memo on the dress code. Other family members opted for more somber shades. Kate Middleton, her sister Pippa Middleton, and mother-in-law Queen Consort Camilla all wore neutral tones within the white and blue color scheme. According to the Daily Express, Markle may have chosen her Ralph Lauren olive-green dress because the shade symbolizes peace, love, and nature. Meanwhile, her husband, Prince Harry, looked dapper in a classy blue suit.

The Duchess of Sussex's affinity towards green is argued to be deeply rooted in her heritage. She Finds reports that her love for the colour seems to be a nod to the Nigerian flag. On her now defunct Archetypes podcast, she sat down with Nigerian comedian Ziwe Fumudoh and shared, “I just had my genealogy done a couple of years ago, I’m 43 percent Nigerian…I’m going to start to dig deeper into all of this.” Markle has frequently worn green for royal engagements, most notably during her final one as a senior royal before returning to America. As reported by Stylist, to make matters worse, Markle also broke protocol while taking the official christening photos. She was seen being overly tactile and wrapping her arms around Prince Harry, which is usually strictly avoided in formal pictures.

During her first royal engagement with Queen Elizabeth II, she broke not one but two protocols. In a resurfaced clip, she was seen walking ahead of the Queen, which is a major breach. Royal protocol dictates that all family members walk behind the Queen according to the order of precedence. She also entered the car before the Queen. However, the Duchess had a valid reason for this. Etiquette expert William Hanson told the Daily Mail that the Queen always sat behind the driver. “This is just a case of habit, not protocol [protocol actually says the most important person sits diagonally behind the driver], but the Queen has always preferred being directly behind whoever is driving her,” he told the outlet.

In another resurfaced clip from the Young Leaders Awards Ceremony at Buckingham Palace, Markle was seen crossing her legs in front of the Queen, which was yet another breach. Royal expert Grant Harrold told Yahoo! Life, “Ladies do, on occasion, cross their legs. It was a famous pose for Princess Diana, but let’s remember that a royal lady certainly would not cross at the knees.”