Meghan Markle left royal life with a flourish, first announcing her intention to step down from her role in January 2019 (opens in new tab) and then, after reaching an agreement with her fellow Windsors on what her new life would be like, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex became the last active royal in March when they returned to England.

Many of the meetings with patrons and others took place behind the scenes, and royal watchers had only a handful of events where they could see the couple in action in public, but Meghan did not miss a single opportunity to impress (opens in new tab). She wore an emerald green Emilia Wickstead cape dress with a matching William Chambers hat and Gabriella Hirst bag. She paired her emerald green Emilia Wickstead cape dress with a matching William Chambers hat and Gabriella Hearst bag.

And it's over; whatever Meghan chooses to wear after her March appearance, it will likely be entirely her own, save for future looks at odd royal events like "Trooping the Colour." It is not that the Queen's staff dressed the Duchess up like a doll and dignified her, but that the clothes Meghan wore while working as the Queen's representative were inherently a reflection of the monarchy and, therefore, had to reflect certain values.

It has been some time since Queen Meghan was freed from these restrictions. And what did she do with this new freedom of dress?

The Duchess's new front-facing wardrobe - the clothes she wears when she knows she will be photographed (or, in the case of her digital appearances, when she is screen-shot) - remains remarkably close to that of the royal family. When she and Harry visited a cemetery in Los Angeles to commemorate Britain's Remembrance Sunday (opens in new tab), Meghan wore a belted A-line coat and carried a matching clutch bag, recalling some similar outfits she wore as a duchess.

A change is evident around the edges. She seems to be wearing fewer dresses these days (although it is a bit hard to tell since she often wears her waist up in virtual settings and does not have the opportunity to attend formal dinners as she did when she was a duchess). On casual occasions, she lets her California roots shine through in a chambray shirt (opens in new tab) and faded green shorts (opens in new tab); in a conversation with Gloria Steinem in August (opens in new tab), she wore a wide-brimmed hat, striped white pants and sandals.

Still, this is a tweak, not a total fashion overhaul. So there are two choices: either the Duchess of Sussex has always dressed more or less as she likes and her style naturally follows royal standards, or she still dresses for the people across the pond. (The latter was definitely the case at least once. Why would she dress in a full-length coat in sunny California if not to visually resonate with the British wintering in London?)

Eventually, as Meghan makes more appearances and, theoretically, meets in person rather than virtually, it may become clear who the Duchess is dressing for.