Meghan Markle turned heads in Miami over the weekend as she cheered on her husband, Prince Harry, during a charity polo match in Florida benefiting Sentebale.
The Duchess of Sussex, aged 42, exuded elegance as she traversed the field in a flowing white dress designed by Californian designer Heidi Merrick, accentuated with a £2,650 Maison Valentino bag. However, her choice of footwear ignited a debate among royal fans.
Meghan completed her chic ensemble with a pair of ‘Purist 105′ nude nappa leather pumps valued at £565 from one of her favored brands, Aquazzura. While some questioned the practicality of wearing stilettos on a polo field, others pointed out potential difficulties in navigating the terrain, which could be affected by the horses’ hooves.
This isn’t the first time Meghan has sported high heels at athletic events, having been seen on rugby pitches, basketball courts, and running tracks. Renowned photographer Glenn Gratton previously shared insights, suggesting that Meghan’s choice of footwear may be influenced by her appearances alongside Prince Harry, who stands considerably taller than his wife.
Standing at 6 feet tall, Meghan is dwarfed by Harry’s impressive height of 6 feet 10 inches, resulting in a noticeable height disparity between the couple.
Gratton said: ‘Couples with a large height difference look slightly unbalanced in photos, and often the shorter of the two looks even smaller and is constantly looking at their partner.
‘Rod Stewart and his wife Penny have a big gap, but it is minimized by the fact that Rod wears Cuban heels and Penny doesn’t wear super high heels. In the case of Harry and Meghan, she will wear high heels to maximize her height and reduce the gap if possible.’
In 2022, while observing Harry’s polo match in Santa Barbara, Meghan echoed Julia Roberts’ style in Pretty Woman, donning a stunning polka dot blouse and white shorts—perfectly complemented by another pair of Aquazzura heels. Consistent with Gratton’s observations, the height disparity between Meghan and Harry notably diminished as they walked hand in hand across the field.
During the Invictus Games in Frankfurt the previous year, the Duchess also opted for stilettos, utilizing them to enhance her height during certain events such as wheelchair basketball. While presenting medals to the victorious USA team, she exuded elegance in an all-black ensemble featuring skinny jeans, a knit cardigan, and stiletto pumps.
Once again, observers took note of Meghan’s preference for heels while attending the Royal Salute Polo Challenge over the weekend, with some fans commenting on the impracticality of her chic attire.
One person wrote: ‘I’ve been to polo matches there, it’s a real problem with heels, especially at half time when spectators are stomping on the divots on the pitch. But stylish Meghan does.”
Another expressed concern that Meghan’s heels could be ruined by the stomping.
They wrote: ‘In a polo match during the interval between the chukkas the task of the spectators is to enter the gaps on the field formed by the horses’ hooves. Good luck with those heels Meghan.’
Throughout her tenure as a working royal in Britain, the Duchess consistently demonstrated her allegiance to the stylish stiletto. During the British team trials for the Invictus Games at Bath University in April 2018, she donned a pair of stiletto boots, despite the need to traverse the athletics track and lawn.
Additionally, for her inaugural Buckingham Palace Garden party shortly after her wedding to Harry, she complemented her nude dress with yet another sleek stiletto, opting for elegance over the potential comfort of a shorter block heel more suitable for walking on grass.
