Meghan Markle is planning to attend Paris Fashion Week again now that she is living in Europe, the Daily Express understands. The Duchess of Sussex, who relocated back to Britain with her family at the end of August, has been considering spending the weekend in the French capital, but no concrete plans have been made yet.
Source confirms invitation and solo debut plans
A source told the Daily Express that she is keen to use the event to make her public debut since the big move, explaining: “She’s keen to go alone and hold her head high. Meghan deliberately hasn’t attended an event in the UK yet; she’s been holding out for the perfect time, and Paris offers that.”
Her husband, Prince Harry, will stay home with their two children as they continue to keep their work commitments separate. The Duke has conducted a handful of solo engagements since returning to the UK.
Cautious after last year's backlash
Meghan, who has yet to appear in public since the move despite posting snippets on her Instagram and being snapped at the pub, believes Paris Fashion Week aligns perfectly with the brand she has been trying to curate since leaving the Royal Family. Though the insider said she is feeling a little cautious after the fierce backlash she received last year, after it emerged she had not actually been invited to attend.
“She has been invited through official channels,” they said, refusing to comment on reports she engineered her attendance last year, but added: “She’s been weighing up whether to go because of the timing.”
Last year's debut and criticism
Meghan made her debut at Paris Fashion Week last year, wearing a striking white suit and dramatic cape at Balenciaga. At first, her solo trip was seen as legitimising her newfound status as a lifestyle guru, but this image was muddied when it emerged she had reached out to the fashion house’s creative director, Pierpaolo Piccioli and asked to attend. It is customary for celebrity attendees to be formally invited.
The Duchess also came under criticism when a video emerged of her appearing to laugh when a model took a tumble on the catwalk. She also shared a video on her Instagram account of her relaxing in a limo as the car drove near where Princess Diana was killed. Her spokesperson later denied that Meghan laughed at the model and did not film near the Pont d’Alma tunnel.
A spokesperson for the Duchess has not commented on the claims that she is planning to attend Paris Fashion Week. This topic, and several others, are discussed in the first episode of Royals Unscripted, the Daily Express’s new YouTube and podcast series, which aired at 7 am on Thursday, October 1.
