It turns out that being in the public eye all the time has helped the royal women come up with some useful fashion and beauty hacks. Although Queen Elizabeth has a couple of style tricks herself (like wearing bright clothing to be seen by fans who are far away), the best fashion tips have been invented and perfected by the modern royals who suddenly found themselves being photographed all the time.
Princess Diana had a few tricks up her sleeve, and that tradition has been carried on by Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle. Depending on their own style needs, they all have different ways of handling common problems. Diana often wanted to keep her clothing secure so paparazzi cameras wouldn't catch her in a wardrobe malfunction. The Duchess of Cambridge tends to opt for tricks that keep her more comfortable. And the Duchess of Sussex goes with hacks that allow her to elevate casual looks for posh events.
Here are some of their best style tricks that we could all use.
Check out our Meghan Markle page for all the latest news about Meghan, Prince Harry, and their growing family.
How Kate Makes Her Heels Comfy
The Duchess of Cambridge spends much of her public life in heels, so she pretty quickly had to figure out a way to make them more comfortable. She reportedly uses $23 leather insoles to cushion the shoes. The duchess is particularly fond of the Alice Bow brand, which is available to us non-royals, too.
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Meghan Markle Wears Bigger Shoes on Purpose
Meghan Markle has a heels hack of her own. The duchess routinely wears shoes that are a size or two larger than her feet. That way, she can avoid blisters if her feet swell a bit while she's walking around at an event all day or night. This is also a trick that many celebrities employ for red carpet events, so Meghan may have picked it up while working in Hollywood.
Princess Diana's Modesty Clutch
Diana knew that the paparazzi would stop at nothing to get their shot, so she wouldn't give it to them. While getting in and out of cars, the princess would hold her clutch tightly to her chest, and the photographers wouldn't be able to get a shot down her dress. It's sad that she had to do that at all, but it's a pretty clever trick.
Meghan's Streamlined Silhouette
Tucking a shirt into pants creates a more polished look, but it can also add unnecessary bulk to an outfit's silhouette. Not for Meghan! She usually opts for a bodysuit so she keeps her trim figure and her shirt has no chance of becoming untucked. Yes, even this flowy blouse is actually a bodysuit!
Making Old Coats New Again
There are so many events for Kate to go to, she couldn't possibly wear a new outfit to each one. But she sometimes creates the illusion of a fresh look by simply adding a belt to a coat. Then she can re-wear the coat later with a different belt or no belt, and it will look fresh. A belt is one of the least expensive accessories, so this is totally genius.
Diana's Neat Hat Trick
Royal women often have to wear hats to formal events, and Diana had a trick to keep hers in place all day — no matter how windy it might have been on the polo field or wherever she was. She had combs built into her hats to keep them securely attached to her hair. Reportedly many of the other royals now do this, too.
How Kate Middleton Tames Flyaways
Look closely at some of Kate's more intricate buns — she keeps everything in place with a hairnet. The fine mesh is perfectly color-matched to her hair, so it's hard to tell from far away. But yep, she's often lunch lady-ing it up to keep her hair looking smooth and styled. Zoom into some of her photos, and it's plain to see.
Meghan Also Has a Flyaway Hack
To keep her own hair in place, Meghan relies on an unusual beauty item — a toothbrush. She told Birchbox in 2014, "For my flyaways, I spray hairspray on a small boar bristle toothbrush — a regular toothbrush also works great! — to lightly brush them down or smooth the hairline." So clever!
How Kate Middleton Avoids Slippery Shoes When Wearing Pantyhose
Anyone who's ever tried wearing pantyhose with heels knows that it can be kind of precarious. Tights often make our feet slippery and we can step right out of our shoes. But Kate usually wears pantyhose with built-in sticky pads to keep them securely in her pumps. Her go-to brand is reportedly from UK department store John Lewis, and they cost just $7.
There's a Reason for Meghan's Low Buns
One of the duchess's go-to hairstyles is the low bun, and there are reportedly several reasons for that. The hairstyle keeps her cool in the summer and also takes relatively little time to create. Additionally, she can easily transition from a day bun to having her hair down at a night event in a snap. A low bun is less likely to leave a hair dent than a high, tight bun.
The Perfect Nail Polish Shade
The younger royal women can credit Queen Elizabeth for this hack. The Queen reportedly prefers that the royals wear pale, neutral nail polish colors. But these colors also double as great chip-hiding shades. It's way harder to tell if a royal has messy nail polish if she's wearing light pink than if she's wearing dark red. Not that the royal ladies would often have chipped polish, but just in case!
Staying Warm & Following Protocol
One of the sillier royal fashion protocols is that royal women are discouraged from taking their coats off in public. Kate Middleton works with this rule by wearing coatdresses. She gets the warmth of a coat but the practicability of a dress. No wonder she owns these coatdresses in every color for any occasion.
Meghan's Instant Beauty Refresh
Meghan has a hack from her TV days to look instantly awake with just two products. She uses an eyelash curler to bring her lashes up and make her look bright-eyed, and she adds a brightening concealer from Yves Saint Laurent. "It'll save you on the days you didn't get quite enough sleep," she told Shape magazine in 2013.
Also, Using Coconut Oil on Everything
In that same Shape interview, Meghan added that her glowy skin and silky hair can be attributed to one natural product — coconut oil. "I have been using a lot of coconut oil though of late, on my skin, on my hair, like it's a deep conditioner. And then even to cook with," she added. It's truly an all-in-one product.
No-Smudge Eyeliner
The Duchess of Cambridge also has a beauty product hack. Kate is well-known for loving dark eyeliner, but she uses a gel formula rather than a classic pencil. The product stays in place better and doesn't smudge as much, keeping Kate's eyes always looking fresh and beautiful.
A Pop of Posh
Lately, many of Kate's outfits have featured the same accessory — a stiff white collar. She often adds them to dresses for a pop of white to contrast the colorful gown, and Vogue called the effect "on the right side of posh." For anyone interested in creating this look themselves, Amazon sells the collars only, so there's no need for a whole bulky shirt under a dress.
Meghan Markle Also Has a White Shirt Hack
The Duchess of Sussex spent a lot of time wearing collared, button-up shirts while playing a lawyer on Suits, and she's developed her own hack for them. She rolls up the sleeves to provide a more polished look to her outfit overall. It's such an easy trick, but it really does elevate an ensemble.
Kate's Travel Organization Hack for Her Wardrobe
When Kate travels, she often has to bring a lot of clothing. Sometimes she'll do several outfit changes a day on her royal tours. So she's developed a whole system to keep things organized. According to Express, she color-codes her luggage. For instance, a blue bag tag means she wants the outfit on the plane, green goes to the hotel, and yellow is for when the royals are staying at other people's homes.
And This Is What She Packs
Kate's other travel hack when it comes to her wardrobe is to mostly pack specific types of synthetic fabrics. Nylon, polyester, and acrylic don't wrinkle as easily as natural fabrics do, and that's essential when traveling and having to fit everything in suitcases. Kate definitely knows what she's doing, because she always looks flawless on her trips.
Princess Diana's Seamless Tiara Blending
OK, this is less of a hack that just anyone can use — but it is clever. Diana would wrap blond-colored fabric along the bottom of her tiaras so they would blend better into her hair. It is a little funny that Diana wore crowns often enough that she developed this technique. Unblended tiaras are a problem only a few people in the world have.
