Last week, Meghan Markle made a surprise appearance at the British Fashion Awards in London, and was there to present an award to her wedding dress designer, Clare Waight Keller. The pregnant Duchess of Sussex was, naturally, surrounded by tight security, and all hallways in her path were cleared so she could walk through. The tactic, which TMZ referred to as “Royal Movement,” reportedly didn’t sit well with a few other celebrities in attendance, including Kendall Jenner, Rita Ora, and the Beckhams.
Sources said that Markle’s area backstage at the Royal Albert Hall was guarded by the Duchess’s Royalty Protection officers for the duration of the event, and any hallways or staircases that the royal needed to pass through were closed off — so that she could walk alone.
According to TMZ’ s sources, stars like Jenner, Ora, and the Beckhams had wanted to greet the Duchess, but security turned them all away.
The only women who were allowed to be photographed with Markle were Waight Keller and actress Rosamund Pike, who co-presented Waight Keller’s award with Markle, StyleCaster reported. The three posed for photo booth pictures, which later appeared on a royal fan account’s Instagram.
Markle also appeared in photos on stage, where she hugged Waight Keller after giving the designer her award. The images were posted on the Kensington Royal official Instagram.
Other than that, Markle was photographed solo at the event, often cradling her baby bump.
Markle joined the event to present Waight Keller with the British Womenswear Designer of the Year. Waight Keller not only designed Markle’s famous wedding dress — which was seen at the royal wedding back in May — but also the black one-shoulder dress that Markle wore to the awards show. Waight Keller is also the Creative Director of international fashion house Givenchy.
“I recently read that the culture of fashion has changed from where it was once ‘cool to be cruel’ to now where it is ‘cool to be kind,” Markle said when she arrived on stage to announce the award, per Time . “I feel especially proud to announce tonight’s winner, who is a British designer leading on the global stage with vision and creativity, but also with incredible kindness.”
“The award recognized Clare Waight Keller’s formidable contribution as a British fashion designer to the industry this year and was decided by a panel of over 2,000 international industry experts,” the post on the Kensington Royals Instagram page read.
