What Meghan Markle's Engagement Dress Reveals About Her

If you're living a real-life fairy tale, you might as well dress for it.

Meghan Markle chose a $75,000 couture evening gown for her official engagement portrait with fiancée Prince Harry.

In the stunning set of photographs released by Kensington Palace on Thursday by fashion photographer Alexi Lubomirski, the American actress is wearing red carpet-ready gown from London-based design house Ralph & Russo's Fall 2017 collection. The surprising choice features with a sheer lace bodice with gold embroidery, and a long, ruffled black tulle skirt.

The price tag: £56,000 which is the equivalent of about $75,000. Sorry, but it's no longer available.

Traditionally, royals do not accept free clothes from designers. So either someone shelled out big bucks for the dream dress or Meghan is rewriting another bit of palace protocol. One thing is for sure, her choice is certain to raise eyebrows among some palace insiders.

The photographs were shot at Frogmore House at Windsor and are a telling clue that Meghan intends to bring plenty of Hollywood glamour to the House of Windsor.

In the first photo, Meghan is sitting with Harry on a set of stairs. His blue suit looks like the same one he wore when the couple announced their engagement. They are holding hands, with Meghan showing off her engagement ring for the camera.

Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle have chosen to release this official portrait photograph to mark their engagement. The photograph was taken by photographer @alexilubomirski earlier this week at Frogmore House, Windsor.
A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Dec 21, 2017 at 3:59am PST

The second image, in black and white, is straight out of the pages of Vogue with the couple walking hand-in-hand near a lake on the grounds of Windsor. Because, you know, an evening gown is just the thing for a stroll around the grounds of your in-law's estate.

Thank you so much for all of the wonderful comments following the release of Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle's engagement photographs. The couple are so grateful for the warm and generous messages they have received during such a happy time in their lives. As a way to say thank you, they have decided to share this candid photograph from the day of their portrait sittings directly with all of you.
A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Dec 21, 2017 at 6:00am PST

The third photograph, also black and white, is a lovely image of the couple nuzzling in close with Meghan wrapped in Harry's jacket. For this image, Meghan exchanged her evening gown for a classic white cashmere sweater.

Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle have chosen to release this official portrait photograph to mark their engagement. The photograph was taken by photographer @alexilubomirski earlier this week at Frogmore House, Windsor.
A post shared by Kensington Palace (@kensingtonroyal) on Dec 21, 2017 at 3:59am PST

Official engagement photos are standard fare for the royals. Prince William and Kate Middleton released two shots taken by family friend Mario Testino, who also snapped the iconic shots of Princess Diana for Vanity Fair in 1997.

In contrast, William and Kate wore matching white shirts for their casual black and white photo. For the formal portrait, Kate chose a simple white ivory crepe dress by Reiss (pricetag: $300) that she already owned and recycled it a few years later on her first royal tour of Canada.

Something tells us Meghan is going to have a royally good time dressing the part of a royal wife.

Diane Clehane is a New York-based journalist and author of Imagining Diana A Novel.

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