How Meghan Markle is refusing to follow the Queen's VERY strict fashion rules

The little black tuxedo mini dress the Duchess of Sussex wore to last week’s charity performance of the hit musical Hamilton would have barely raised an eyebrow in her former life as a successful Hollywood actress.

But the thigh-skimming outfit that showed off her impressively well-toned – and scandalously bare – legs was decidedly risque for her new starring role as a British Royal.

In fact, Meghan’s £459 dress by Canadian label Judith & Charles broke no fewer than four golden rules of the rigid dress code of the Royal Family.

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There is, of course, no formal rule book, but the Queen has made it clear that there is an unwritten protocol which dictates what Royal women should wear – and when.

Such is the universal respect in which Her Majesty is held that even the most unconventional members of ‘The Firm’ have generally adhered to her fashion guidelines, which favour discretion over vulgarity and practicality over glamour.

Indeed, even the most rebellious of Royals, Princess Diana, dared not flout convention until after the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles: who can forget the strikingly sexy ‘revenge’ dress by Greek designer Christina Stambolian she pointedly wore to the Serpentine Gallery’s summer party on the night Prince Charles confessed his affair on television?

So perhaps it’s fitting that it has been left to Diana’s daughter-in-law Meghan, the face of a more modern Monarchy, to be more flagrant.

Not only did the Duchess appear with no flesh-coloured tights to cover her slender legs, but she also wore a daring pair of vertiginous heels.

Worse, the dress was – quite appallingly – black and – shock horror – cut above the knee.

So what are the Royal fashion rules that govern what the Royals can and can’t wear? And how is Meghan breaking them?

Rule No1: NO BARE LEGS  

Rule No2: NO SKIRTS ABOVE THE KNEE 

Rule No3: ...AND NO BLACK

Rule No4: ...OR TROUSER SUITS

Rule No5: NO SHOULDERS ON SHOW

This article was first published on dailymail.co.uk and is reproduced here with permission.