Well of course Meghan paired a $5000 suit with $400 hand jewellery

While Prince Harry was supporting the Invictus Games, his wife was busy with a side hustle of her own.Meghan is patron of the Label Games, that fascinating sport, played predominantly (though not exclusively) by women whose goal is to assert their status through their wardrobe. Think of it as a bit like Top Trumps, only with Chanel as the jack.

Or in Meghan’s case, Chanel, Valentino and Celine.

Meghan packed an estimated £38,000 (A$67,000) worth of clothes, accessories and jewellery for her trip, including a £3200 (A$5200) Valentino suit, a £2400 (A$4200) Celine jacket and a Cartier Love bracelet worth £5800 (A$10,200).

The latter is no indicator of profligacy, since it belonged to Princess Diana. Her £12,800 (A$22,500) Cartier necklace, however, is thought to be new.

Her detractors have been quick to condemn this tone deaf, Marie Antoinette-ish approach. This is predictable, but also rather naive. Meghan is never going to be a woman who rocks up to a public appearance wearing Next shoes and a shift dress from the M&S sale rail. Wars may – and do – rage, and she would still dress for the life she has, not the life her detractors wish her to have. Like Reese Witherspoon or Kim Kardashian, Meghan is a multi-hyphenate, a duchess/actress/author/producer whose many disparate roles require a wardrobe whose subtle coda ensures it appeals to a broad church. The Duchess of Cambridge’s neat, box-ticking, crowd-pleasing version of a princess is not expansive enough for the many messages Meghan needs to convey. Hence why she played the Label Games.

Day One started off predictably enough, with that tried and tested “grand entrance” formula beloved of modern brides and Bianca Jagger at Studio 54, the white trouser suit. Meghan’s was by Valentino, teamed with an off-white Valentino bag for extra emphasis. Still, she couldn’t help but add a talking point, in the form of a £234 (A$400) “kitten mitten” (that’s hand jewellery, to you and me) by indie Brooklyn jewellery brand Catbird. This deliberately off-kilter note is pure Meghan: she loves to play against type, as in 2019, when she appeared at an official engagement with bare legs, despite royal convention suggesting women should wear hosiery. In the same vein, Day Two saw her wear an ultra-conservative £2400 (A$4200) Celine jacket, gold buttons and all, with a gilt-chained Celine bag, demure Chanel pumps and – here comes the off-kilter note – a pair of low-rise jeans by little-known label Moussy Vintage.

As the trip rolled on, it became clearer and clearer that Meghan didn’t want to be pigeonholed, but was instead determined to express through her wardrobe as many facets of her multi-hyphenate identity as she could. On the morning of Day Two, she dressed like a duchess, a modern royal in a symphony of soft beige tones that included a simple roll-neck, wide-leg MaxMara trousers and a £4281 (A$7500) Ralph Lauren coat. It was the quintessence of stealth wealth – an outfit worthy of Shiv Roy in season one of Succession, before the plot required her to express her inner turmoil by wearing Ted Baker. By evening, when she gave a speech at the games’ Opening Ceremony, she had finessed her look into more of a Netflix power executive vibe, in wide-leg navy trousers and a £620 (A$1000) Khaite bodysuit.