The Queen Had to Approve Meghan Markle's Wedding Dress (and More Crazy Royal Style Rules)

It wouldn’t be far-fetched to say that most little girls — and let’s face it, even grown women — dream of becoming royalty at some point or another. Maybe it’s all those Disney movies, or perhaps it’s our unapologetic obsession with British royalty. (Exhibit A: the frenzy surrounding the upcoming royal wedding.) While being a princess or a queen has many perks, it turns out that it’s not necessarily as easy as it sounds.

Royal duties aside, there are countless fashion and beauty rules a royal family member must abide by, and sometimes they seem downright arbitrary. For example, the Kensington Palace expects its royal women to always wear “perfectly kempt hairstyles,” so Megan Markle must say farewell to messy buns and beach-y locks if she wants to avoid a scolding. On the upside, she does get to say hello to a tiara. Another rule, which seems pretty old fashioned, is that there's a strong preference for royal women to always wear a pair of nude stockings.

Also, accepting free clothing is also a major no-no, but it’s not like Markle, Middleton, or the Queen have to worry about where their next high-fashion outfit is coming from. Their wardrobe expenses are covered by a five million-dollar fund that Prince Charles provides for his sons and their wives.  

Regarding the upcoming royal wedding, Cosmopolitan put together a comprehensive list of surprising fashion rules that the royal family, and Markle specifically, are expected to follow. For starters, whatever wedding dress she walked down the aisle wearing had to be pre-approved by the Queen. It’s a longstanding tradition, and word on the street is that the Queen has given the OK to a Ralph & Russo gown. Markle must also wear a natural or muted nail polish both on her wedding day and for any future royal events.

Some other unexpected rules are that tiaras are reserved for only married women, and only worn on very special occasions; that the Queen uses her handbags to relay secret messages, and that royalty are expected to carry an all-black outfit at all times in case of a family death.

Though some of the rules might sound strange, we still wouldn’t mind throwing on a pair of stockings and donning immaculate hair — especially if that meant being a real live princess with access to a five-million dollar wardrobe fund.