Meghan Markle’s Oprah Outfit Revealed Hidden Messages – Here’s What Fans Need To Know

It would be fair to say that Harry and Meghan’s life in the glare of the media spotlight has been far from plain sailing. From practically the moment the British royal confirmed his romance with the actress in 2016, he has called out the “wave of abuse and harassment” that his partner has suffered. And the couple has been dealing with a barrage of negative press ever since their earliest days together.

So when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex sat down with Oprah, it seemed that they’d finally been given the opportunity to tell their side of the story. What’s more, they crammed a lot into the two-hour-long interview. No subject was supposedly off-limits, including the reason behind their exit from life as working members of the royal family.

In the end, according to the official ratings, more than 17 million people tuned in to the tell-all interview. And for the most part, audiences were gripped as the couple dropped bombshell after bombshell. But perhaps most powerful of all were things left unsaid, including the hidden meaning contained within the Sussexes’ carefully curated image.

Before Harry and Meghan’s chat with Oprah, anticipation was high. The interview was the Sussexes’ first since bowing out of royal duties earlier that year. As such, they were expected to address a number of potentially controversial topics, including racism and the treatment they had experienced at the hands of the British tabloids.

Ultimately, the interview proved to be pretty explosive. And since the much-anticipated airing, it would be fair to say that everything about the exchange has been picked apart and analyzed in minute detail. Aspects including the setting, the couple’s body language, and – as we’ll cover – their outfits have been scrutinized for any extra insight they could add.

As royals, Harry and Meghan are used to being judged on every aspect of their lives. So while the Duke and Duchess’ outfits for the interview may have been the work of a styling team, they were still dissected down to the very last detail. And while Meghan’s was perhaps more of note, Harry’s sartorial choices were also deemed worthy of comment in the press.

For the major media event, Harry donned a light-grey, slim-fitting J. Crew suit with a white shirt, which he left open-collared. And despite his official title, the outfit didn’t cost a princely sum. In fact, it was a relative steal, coming to an estimated total of little more than $700 for the entire look.

Perhaps Harry’s choice of brand was a tribute to his new home in the States. The relaxed slim-fit suit gave the prince something of an all-American style, which seemed far more suited to life in Santa Barbara than the stuffy environs of the British monarchy’s upper echelons. That being said, the look wasn’t too laid back, coming across as stylish rather than showy.

The affordable outfit dovetailed with Harry’s perceived status as one of the most down-to-earth royals. And just like most of us ordinary folk, he’s not opposed to wearing the same look more than once. That’s because this particular J. Crew suit seems to be one of the prince’s wardrobe staples - given that he’s sported it on multiple occasions.

One of the most memorable times Harry pulled on the trusty outfit was when introducing his son Archie to the world. The doting dad stood alongside his wife at Windsor Castle’s St. George’s Hall as the new family posed for photos in front of the press in 2019. At the time, little Archie was just two days old.

Harry returned to the same outfit when attending Archie’s christening in July 2019. Given that he'd already sported the suit for his son's first photocall and then again at his baptism, royal commentators were quick to draw conclusions. So by the time the Oprah interview rolled around, the look was being interpreted as a clear tribute to his first-born child.

But the grey suit actually predates Archie’s birth altogether. That’s because Harry was seen wearing the ensemble on an official visit to the English cathedral city of Chichester he made with Meghan back in 2018. He sported it once again on a trip to Morocco in early 2019. So it’s clear to see that the smart yet casual look is a styling with which he feels comfortable; it may have made the sit-down chat with Oprah that little bit easier.

For her part, Meghan wore a black Armani wrap dress with shoulder detail. Considerably pricier than her husband’s outfit, the designer brand is a favorite among the Hollywood elite. As such, it may have marked the couple’s new life in Los Angeles and their latest status as celebrities first, rather than out-and-out royals.

The selected shape of Meghan’s dress was also revealing, both literally and figuratively. The gown had a subtle v-neck and was belted below the bust, emphasizing the duchess’s blossoming figure. She and Harry had announced their second pregnancy in February 2021, just a few weeks before their interview with Oprah.

Harry and Meghan’s baby news came after the couple revealed they’d experienced a miscarriage in July 2020. In an essay published in The New York Times’ opinion section four months later, the duchess wrote, “Losing a child means carrying an almost unbearable grief, experienced by many but talked about by few.”

Following the sorrow of their miscarriage, Harry and Meghan were apparently “overjoyed” to be expecting again, a spokesman told BBC News in February 2021. Alongside the announcement, the couple released a black-and-white photograph of them relaxing beneath the branches of a tree. In the snap, Meghan rests an arm on her prominent bump while reclining in her husband’s lap.

Between announcing the pregnancy and their Oprah interview, Harry and Meghan made just one public appearance. That came in the form of a Spotify video, in which they promoted their podcast venture Archewell Audio. But while sitting down in a loose-fitting Oscar de la Renta dress, the duchess had kept her bump under wraps on this occasion.

So by the time that Harry and Meghan sat down with Oprah, we’d seen little of her burgeoning baby bump. But here it was, displayed in all its glory, in a beautiful wraparound gown. And as the flowing outfit seemed to suggest, the couple were open about discussing their upcoming arrival.

During the interview, Harry and Meghan revealed for the first time that they were expecting a daughter. Referring to the fact they already had a son, doting dad Harry said, “To have any one or any two, but to have a boy and then a girl—what more could you ask for?”

The couple also revealed their newest arrival would complete their brood. Harry explained, “Now we've got our family. We’ve got the four of us. We’ve got our two dogs. Done.” And when Oprah pressed the point on how many children they wanted by asking, “Done – two is it?” Meghan replied, confirming, “Two is it.”

Despite Meghan’s apparent openness to discuss their baby news, she stopped short of revealing a specific due date. Responding to Oprah’s inquiry on that matter, she kept things vague, telling her that their daughter would arrive in the “summertime.” Yet, as we know, she didn’t hold back on other topics.

As part of the explosive interview, Meghan and Harry discussed which elements of their new lifestyle excited them the most. To this, the Duchess replied, “I think just being able to live authentically.” That included looking after her rescue chickens. She explained, “This kind of stuff. It’s so, it’s so basic, but it’s really fulfilling. Just getting back down to basics.”

Echoing his wife’s sentiment, later on in the interview with Oprah, Harry suggested that he and Meghan were free to be themselves now that they were no longer working royals. He said, “With us, it was just, like, just be . . . just be yourself. Just be genuine. Just be authentic. Just go and do what it is. If you get it wrong, you get it wrong. If you get it right, you get it right.”

The couple also spoke about their Archewell organization, which encompasses a non-profit foundation, as well audio and production wings. According to the Archewell website, the Sussexes’ new venture will “unleash the power of compassion to drive systemic cultural change.”

Some of Archewell’s first confirmed projects included deals with Netflix and Spotify to create productions and podcasts, respectively. When asked how they will use the company to spread the word on topics they are passionate about, Meghan told Oprah, “Life is about storytelling, right? About the stories, we tell ourselves, the stories we’re told, what we buy into.”

Clearly excited about the venture, Meghan continued, “For us to be able to have storytelling through a truthful lens, that hopefully is uplifting, is going to be great… knowing how many people that can land with. And being able to give a voice to a lot of people that are under-represented and aren’t really heard.”

So with their organization and a new baby on the horizon, it was clear that the Sussexes had a busy future in prospect. And a closer look at Meghan’s chosen outfit for the Oprah interview suggests that hope for the future was a message that she wanted to portray. Her dress featured a white lotus flower print, which is said to represent insight and understanding, clarity, virtue, renaissance and regrowth.

As Town & Country magazine pointed out in an article published on its website in 2020, the white lotus thrives in what seems like difficult conditions. And for her part, Meghan discussed how she’d gone through an “almost unsurvivable” experience and had even made it past suicidal feelings.

But it wasn’t just Meghan’s dress that contained hidden meanings. Her earrings were from the Canadian brand Birks, while her necklace came from Pippa Small, a British designer. As such, they appeared to be nods to two of the countries that the former actress had lived in over the years. What’s more, her triple-set pendant was said to represent aspiration and liberty.

Nor did the symbolism stop there. Meghan had also customized her outfit with a trio of bangles. One of them – a tennis bracelet by Cartier – had belonged to her late mother-in-law Princess Diana. In fact, Harry's mom had been spotted wearing the accessory just months prior to her untimely death in 1997.

It’s been speculated that Harry and Meghan wanted to feel close to Diana during the tell-all interview. As such, it seems that the bracelet was not only a tribute to the late princess but also the couple’s way of making her part of the proceedings. And, indeed, Harry reflected on how his mum might have felt about his decision to step back from royal life during the sit-down chat.

Harry told Oprah, “I think she would feel very angry with how this has panned out. And very sad.” But he suggested that his mom would have supported him and Meghan in their decision to step down as senior royals. He explained, “Ultimately, she’d… all she’d ever want is for us to be happy.”

And Harry seemed to think that Diana would have been able to empathize with their situation, given that she too had split from royal life – albeit under different circumstances. Referring to his parting-of-ways with the family firm, the prince said, “I think she saw it coming. And I certainly felt her presence throughout this whole process.”

Harry added, “I’m just really relieved and happy to be sitting here talking to you with my wife by my side. Because I can’t begin to imagine what it must have been like for her going through this process by herself all those years ago –because it’s been unbelievably tough for the two of us, but at least we had each other.”

The Oprah interview isn’t the only time Meghan has sported treasures from her mother-in-law’s jewelry collection. Diamonds that once belonged to Diana were used to create the duchess’s engagement ring. Meanwhile, she also wore an aquamarine-colored Asprey ring as her “something blue” on her wedding day in 2018.

Alongside Diana’s bangle, Meghan donned another Cartier piece for the Oprah interview. This was a so-called Love Bracelet. According to the jeweler’s website, the design’s “binding closure and screw motif gives it true permanence, while diverse interpretations allow for a unique expression of feelings.”

Taking that at face value, the bracelet could be interpreted as being a sign of the Sussexes’ unbreakable bond. And as if to cement this symbolism even further, Harry wore a matching bangle. So the couple’s coordinating jewelry may have been a sign of them putting on a united front when they’ve seemingly had few sources of support.

Thankfully though, things seemed to be looking up for the couple. As Meghan put it in the Oprah interview, “We’re actually on the other side, we’ve actually not just survived but are thriving. You know, this, I mean, this is miracles… I think that all of those things that I was hoping for have happened . . . and this is, in some ways, just the beginning for us.”