Designer says a call to Kate Middleton's stylist angered Meghan Markle

French fashion designer Roland Mouret, whose clothes have been worn by Victoria Beckham, Angelina Jolie and Michelle Obama, describes a misunderstanding with Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, in his memoir "I Am Roland Mouret: The Butcher's Boy Who Dressed the World". It involved the stylist of Catherine, Princess of Wales (Kate Middleton), and briefly put a strain on his relationship with Markle.

Meeting and the dresses

Mouret writes that he met Markle in 2015 at the opening of a Soho House hotel in Istanbul, where they shared a lift. A year later she told him she had met "a nice British guy". When he asked what the man did, she hesitated and then said he was a prince. Mouret says her voice told him she was in love.

As Markle faced more public events, the designer offered to send several of his dresses, and she agreed. A member of his team delivered them to the palace, with instructions not to tell anyone and not to ask when they would be returned.

The call

After Markle's relationship with Prince Harry had become public, that employee contacted Middleton's stylist to arrange the return of the clothes. According to Mouret, he acted with good intentions. Markle was very angry and phoned the designer, saying he had put her in an awkward position. Mouret apologised, explaining that the employee had not known. He says Markle replied that she could never wear his clothes again. He respected the decision and stresses that it was hers, not the palace's.

Reconciliation

The following year Mouret spotted a photo of Markle in what he regarded as a cheap copy of one of his designs and urged her to come back. He says she replied that she should come and visit him. She later wore his designs publicly several times, including a navy dress at the Royal Foundation dinner in November 2018 and in advertising photos for her brand "As ever" earlier this year. Middleton has also chosen Mouret's label.

Markle told Fashion Magazine that the man in a bathrobe said he wanted to dress her, and that they have been friends since.