Will Meghan Markle still have to follow royal fashion rules?

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It's almost time for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to officially step down and embark on their new royal plans. While some details such as security are still being ironed out - the new set up will be reviewed after a year - it looks like the couple are settling into their life in Canada nicely.

Although they won't be able to use their HRH titles anymore, they can start earning their own money, and pick and choose which projects they'd like to work on.

Another area where the Duchess of Sussex will have a bit more freedom is fashion. Like Kate Middleton and the Queen, Meghan had to abide by several royal etiquette rules such as not wearing diamonds before 6pm.

However now that she is no longer a senior member of the royal family, it's likely that she won't have to follow those rules as strictly anymore.

She has already pushed the boundaries by wearing shorter dresses, suits and black during the day, so it's likely she'll go back to her pre-wedding signature style before long. it is also likely that she will now be able to accept fashion gifts.

There will no doubt be certain exceptions, like when she and Harry come back to the UK to attend major royal events.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.