The Duchess of Sussex has found herself at the centre of a fresh controversy following her recent tour of Australia with Prince Harry. The couple visited Sydney, Melbourne, and Canberra over four days, meeting survivors of the Bondi Beach shooting, attending speaking engagements, and greeting thousands of fans. However, Meghan's decision to post photos of her outfits from charitable engagements on a shopping app has drawn sharp criticism.
Outfit Promotion Sparks Backlash
Meghan has invested in OneOff, a fashion discovery platform that allows users to purchase clothing worn by celebrities. During the Australian trip, she shared links to her outfits, including the one she wore while visiting the site of the Bondi terror attacks. In December last year, two gunmen opened fire at a Hanukkah event, killing 15 people and injuring 40 others. The couple met survivors and first responders at the scene.
Royal commentator Jennie Bond described the move as 'in your face', suggesting that Meghan may not have fully considered the implications of promoting her attire from such a sombre event. 'I think it might be prudent for her to choose the occasions when she puts up links to her clothes on the new app, and charity events or meeting terror attack victims at Bondi Beach are not the right place for it,' Bond told the Mirror.
Freedom to Commercialise
Bond noted that Meghan, having stepped down as a working royal over six years ago, is free to pursue commercial partnerships. 'She’s a working woman now, and not a working royal. Obviously, she couldn’t have joined up with an app like this when she was on official duty for the royal family. And I think she found those sorts of restrictions very hard to deal with,' Bond explained.
However, Bond advised that Meghan might benefit from distancing herself from her royal title to fully embrace her independence. 'It might, however, be better if she stopped exploiting the title and just used her own name. That would make her new status, and the freedom that comes with it, absolutely clear,' she said.
The couple's trip was largely seen as a success, but this latest episode has reignited debate over Meghan's approach to monetising her public appearances.
