Meghan Markle 'upset' late Queen Elizabeth by ditching one fashion item

Meghan Markle was known to break a few rules during her time in the Royal Family - but there was one protocol she ignored that "really upset" Her Majesty the Queen

It's no secret that Meghan Markle struggled to fit into royal life. Prince Harry's wife was faced with historic traditions and unusual rules to follow upon her marriage - and she was known to break the rules once or twice. Much was made of her 'messy bun' on royal engagements and she and Harry would usually hold hands on public outings, something royals tend to avoid. But there was one protocol Meghan chose to ditch that managed to upset Her Majesty the Queen.

The Duchess had a habit of showing off her bare legs, rather than wearing tights or nude-coloured stockings. And according to royal expert Victoria Arbiter, it broke the one rule the Queen had when it came to dressing for public appearances, "I would say that's really the only hard, steadfast rule in terms of what the Queen requires," she told Insider.

Other royal ladies have continued to follow in the Queen's footsteps, including the Princess of Wales. In fact, it's been reported that Meghan and Kate fell out over the issue of tights - as well as the bridesmaid dresses - ahead of the Sussexes' wedding. Writing in his book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry and the war between the Windsors, Tom Bower shared details of the disagreement, stating that Kate believed the bridesmaids should wear tights in keeping with royal guidelines - but Meghan did not.

"Since she had just given birth to Louis, Kate was too fatigued to cope with a disagreement about whether the bridesmaids should wear tights," Bower wrote. "Following protocol, Kate believed they should. The Californian was uninterested in royal traditions.

"That disagreement was followed by an argument about the length of Charlotte's hem," the author continued. "Kate thought it was too short, and anyway did not fit. Melissa Toubati, Meghan's assistant, and the dress-fitters employed by Givenchy's Clare Waight Keller, witnessed Meghan emphatically reject Kate's observation. Compromise was not a trait Meghan embraced.

"The stand-offs, Kate decided, confirmed the complaints by Toubati and other members of staff about Meghan. Kate burst into tears. Kirstie Allsopp, a friend of Camilla, would later confirm that Kate was reduced to tears by Meghan bullying her staff." In the Sussexes' explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan later spoke about the fall-out, and claimed that contrary to reports, it was Kate who had made her cry - and not the other way round. Prince Harry echoed his wife's comments in his book Spare.

Meghan's tailor Ajay Mirpuri later spoke out about the row over the bridesmaid dresses and acknowledged that he had stepped in to alter the dresses - but said he didn't witness any arguments.

He told the Daily Mail: "['’m not sure] if anything happened in the background, it didn't happen in front of me. But yes, weddings are stressful at the best of times – and especially one at this high level; you've got to respect that. They were faced with a problem like anyone gets at a wedding, with last-minute hitches. I can understand why anybody would be upset if the dresses weren’t fitting – it's nerve-wracking," he said.

"I feel for them all, because you wouldn't want the children to go out on a big stage in an ill-fitting dress – and that's what they were. All six bridesmaids’ dresses had to be fixed, and we did it. I'm a royalist and I wanted to do whatever I could with my small business to serve the Royal Family."