Richard Eden’s Meghan Wimbledon Comments Expose The Kate Double Standard

The year was 2018, and Meghan Sussex had committed what the royal press deemed an unforgivable sartorial sin: she wore trousers to Wimbledon. The headlines framed it as a “royal protocol” issue, as though she had personally vandalised the monarchy with a pair of Ralph Lauren slacks.

Now, fast forward to 2026, and who do we see at Wimbledon in a stylish trouser suit? None other than Kate Middleton. And suddenly, the same outlets that spent weeks dissecting Meghan’s “inappropriate” fashion choice are calling Kate’s look “elegant,” “modern,” and “polished.” The hypocrisy is so glaring you could spot it from space.

“When Meghan wore Ralph Lauren trousers to Wimbledon two years later, she was not only breaking protocol, but was also sartorially re-enacting the moment she purportedly solicited a date with Harry. In a sense revisiting the scene of the first seduction, wearing the same designer, only this time as a duchess. We can only imagine how triumphant this must have felt. However, being a duchess, she was now expected to keep to the usual code for the royal box, official appearances, namely skirts and dresses, which is what Catherine opted to wear alongside Meghan…”

Richard Eden on Palace Confidentia

Meghan Was Called A Rule Breaker Until Kate Followed Her Lead

This is why the word “protocol” always felt like it was invented for Meghan. It was never really about rules. It was about finding a respectable-sounding way to criticise her for existing differently. Meghan wore trousers, and it became a breach. Kate wears trousers, and it becomes a style evolution. Meghan looked modern, and it was “too Hollywood.” Kate looks modern, and it is “fresh” and “businesslike.”

That is Meghan’s impact. Whether the royal press wants to admit it or not, she dragged the institution forward. She made space for a different kind of royal presentation, then had to watch other women be praised for adopting the very things she was punished for.

And Richard Eden’s framing makes the double standard even uglier. The language around Meghan has always carried this strange insinuation that she was scheming, seducing or plotting. Even the way some commentators describe her relationship with Harry rewrites basic reality. Harry pursued Meghan. Harry asked her out. Yet the press still finds ways to make Meghan sound calculating, as though she somehow tricked a grown man into marriage.

When Kate Gets The Benefit Of The Doubt Meghan Never Received

Then there is the device under Kate’s blazer. If Meghan had appeared at Wimbledon in a trouser suit with what looked like a microphone or recording device visible under her jacket, the tabloids would have combusted. We would have had three days of headlines about Netflix, secret recordings, palace betrayal and “what was Meghan hiding?”

But because it is Kate, the tone changes. Suddenly, everyone is calm and nuanced. Suddenly, it might be a security device, a mic, a filming accessory, or nothing worth discussing. Funny how the benefit of the doubt only becomes available when Meghan is not involved.

Kate is allowed to evolve, wear trousers, appear in filmed content, be styled and packaged for public consumption. Fine. But then the press needs to admit that Meghan was never breaking the monarchy. She was modernising it. The real scandal is not Kate wearing a suit. The scandal is that Meghan was vilified for opening a door that Kate now gets to walk through without consequence.