It was the Queen of England's 92nd birthday, but all eyes were on Prince Harry's newly-wed Meghan Markle who marked her debut as the Duchess of Sussex, with members of the royal family gathered on the balcony of Buckhingam Palace to witness the Queen's birthday parade.
For her first attendance at the event, Meghan chose to dress in a beautiful off-shoulder blush pink dress by Carolina Herrera and paired it with a Philip Treacy fascinator. While she looked suitably sophisticated for the event, she broke the royal fashion rules that barred women from the royal family to expose their shoulders.
Fashion traditions ask women from the royal family to give off-shoulder outfits and other 'revealing' style dresses at royal engagements a miss. However, it seems like Meghan is an exception.
Trooping the Colour ceremony, which has been a part of the British tradition for 250 years now, sees military troops show off their flags (or colours) and march at the Buckingham Palace square.
A former actress, the newly married royal member joined the Queen, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, Prince Andrew, Prince Edward and Princess Anne along with their families.
Despite the flurry of royalty in attendance at the parade, Markle's off-shoulder dress caught the attention of many and led to a flurry of posts on social media.
Her choice of outfit got some tongues-wagging and as a result, a few royal fans slammed her choice of outfit for the occasion. "Could you have a word with Duchess of Sussex about appropriate formal day wear?" pointed out an online user. "Meghan needs to work on royal protocol," added another.
I do feel her choice of an off the shoulder dress was pushing it for HRH Queen Elizabeth's Birthday celebration. I have a feeling she's going to push the limits a little too much?!
— Shari cunningham (@sacunning) June 9, 2018
Markle didn't shut the hell up and kept blathering on with Camilla right behind the queen! She hardly hardly looked up at the flypast. And yes, her attire was wholly inappropriate once again. #avgeek https://t.co/mGwH0mdINg
— 3 treats ¯_(ツ)_/¯ (@_3treats) June 9, 2018
While some slammed her for defying the royal tradition, others stepped in to support the Duchess of Sussex for her fashion choices.
The Duchess had many royal fans shutting down haters and called her dress a "fabulous" choice and deemed her "stunning" and "beautiful." Several users also pointed out that
the Queen, Kate and Princess Diana have worn off-shoulders in the past.
Catherine needs to take Meghan's lead in terms of work ethic. Meghan's clothes are fine.
— VeryModernMeghan (@VeryModernMegha) June 9, 2018
Happy Birthday, Queen Elizabeth! We LOVED your dress, Meghan !
— julienoble (@radioheadgroupy) June 9, 2018
