While they may be privy to the very finest things in life now, Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton still have to adhere to royal protocol.

The duchesses are rarely seen bare-legged, and the Queen's disdain for pantsuits means that their wardrobes are mostly comprised of dresses and skirts.

The erstwhile actress, however, has been known to skirt royal tradition. Meghan didn't wear pantyhose to her official engagement photo-call, and just last week, she stepped out in a fitted Altuzarra pantsuit, despite Her Royal Highness's aversion to the style. In fact, People magazine reports that the Duchess of Sussex "has found certain rules in the royal household difficult to understand, like the fact that the Queen prefers women in dresses or skirts rather than trouser suits, and is often asking Harry why things have to be done in a certain way."

"I think she finds it a little frustrating at times, but this is her new life, and she has to deal with it," the insider continued.

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Now, it appears that Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton have to follow certain rules when it comes to their jewellery choices. Certainly, while diamonds may be a girl's best friend, they're apparently not until the sun goes down for members of Kensington Palace.

Putting aside engagement rings, tiaras and any religious accessories, it's purportedly an unspoken rule that the Queen, Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton refrain from donning their bigger jewels before 6pm.

In an interview with News.com.au, royal etiquette expert Myka Meier explained: "At night, you’ll see the diamonds come out, and that’s in order to not come across as flashy in your appearance."

There are some notable exceptions, however - like the Duchesses engagement rings, and the fact that many female members of the royal family are partial to wearing diamond brooches to afternoon events.

"Other jewels are worn pre-6pm. Before 6pm, you’ll see metallics, gemstones, pearls, sapphires," Meier concluded.

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The Duchess of Sussex's style has certainly evolved since joining the royal family. In all of her official royal engagements to date, the 37-year-old has opted to wear more traditional designs with a muted colour palette.

This is especially evident when she's with the Queen. While Her Majesty is rarely seen out of her signature brights, Meghan chose to don a blush pink Carolina Herrera dress at Trooping the Colour. And then, at their solo outing to Chester, the Queen wore a lime green ensemble, whereas Megan wore a nude Givenchy dress.

This is all to ensure that the monarch takes centre stage at public outings. A fact confirmed by fashion commentator, Lucas Armitage. Speaking to the Daily Mail, he stated: "I feel this is a clever styling tactic as it will always work with the Queen's look; she is known and applauded for her use of bright fun colours."

Well, the more you know, eh?

I don't know about you, but I spend very little to no time looking at Meghan Markle's feet.

With her on-point outfits, incredible beauty and innate ability to command a room (plus much, much more), there's generally so much going on with the newest member of the Royal Family that you simply don't have time to stare at her feet. But... come on. Stay with me here. Let's entertain the idea.

Let's say you're trying to recreate her amazing style and all you have left is the footwear. Let's say you've lent Meghan Markle some shoes but she keeps on telling you she's lost them, but you don't believe her and spend your days trying to catch her in the act of stealing your shoes. Let's say you're Quentin Tarantino.

What you'd might notice in those cases (and in any other cases where you're staring at Meghan Markle's feet) is that she seems to be wearing shoes that are a little too big for her. Not to the point where they're falling off her feet and she's struggling to walk in the graceful manner befitting of someone married to Prince Harry, but enough to raise an eyebrow.

At first glance, you might struggle to wrap your mind around it. Meghan Markle, wearing ill-fitting shoes?

It doesn't make any sense. It's not as if she's rustling through the bargain bin for a pair of nice shoes but they didn't have any in her size. So, any fashion sleuth worth their salt would deduce that Meghan Markle wears shoes a size too big for a reason, and they'd be right.

Enter fashion expert Harriet Davey, who reveals that like Meghan Markle, most celebrities do the same thing when attending an exclusive event or party, and it's for a pretty relatable reason.

"Celebs often go a size up, or even two, in the shoe department when they're at an event or on the red carpet and it's for one reason we can all relate to—to avoid blisters. There's nothing worse than uncomfortable shoes (we've all been there on a night out) and when celebs like Meghan are wearing heels for a long period of time their feet can often swell up."

While I don't usually wear heels, I can certainly relate to Meghan's plight; too much walking in a fancy pair of shoes not really designed for walking means that uncomfortable fabric is pushing up against my skin or socks, wearing down the material and altogether giving me a problem to contend with the morning after my night out.

But this raises another question: when her feet are too small for her shoes, what does Meghan Markle do to keep them where they should be gracefully? Davey has the answer to that too: "A trick of the trade is to stuff the toe with padding like tissue or cotton wool, and this can be taken out once they feel like they need a bit more room in their shoes."

Well, there you go, folks. Next time you're shopping for shoes and your perfect pair are only available in a size up from what you usually wear, just take a deep breath, smile, and buy them anyway. It's what Meghan Markle would do.

You know, I really think that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle might be the cutest couple ever. Theirs is the relationship that everyone aspires to, and it's hard to think of another new member of the royal family who the public loves as much as Meghan. Now she has a little bundle of joy on the way, and although she and Harry have only been married a few months, they're already giving us all relationship goals to strive for.

The couple is currently on their first overseas royal tour as a married couple, travelling around sunny Australia. However, interestingly enough, despite the abundance of beautiful beaches in Australia, it has emerged that Meghan Markle has been banned by royal protocol from wearing any kind of flip-flop, sandal, or open-toed footwear whatsoever. Instead, she's been restricted to wearing flats instead while traversing the sands. What's going on?

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The reason is that, according to aristocratic custom, sandals are seen as being informal, and thus rude to wear when out and about representing the House of Windsor. As etiquette expert William Hanson explains: "Open-toed shoes are considered informal footwear, and inappropriate for formal occasions. Regardless of how relatively relaxed it was in the grande scheme and precedent of the British monarchy, May’s royal wedding was still a formal affair and so it was quite right that guests were asked to avoid wearing open-toed shoes."

He added: "Sadly the celebrity-heavy guest list was evident quite quickly, especially in the foot department, as some of the guests’ egos took over and pushed protocol to the back seat, namely Priyanka Chopra, Troian Bellisario and Chelsey Davy. It is a shame many decided they were above the dress code: if you do not like the dress code at an event, don’t go."

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However, Meghan and Harry have in fact already broken (or at any rate bent) the rules a little bit while travelling down under. When greeting a large crowd outside the Sydney Opera House, one fan, a young girl, stood out. The youngster was wearing a T-shirt reading "Girls Can Do Anything", and Harry noticed that the girl bore an uncanny resemblance to his wife. The couple spoke to her, and Harry agreed to take a photo of Meghan with the girl This is something of a break with convention since Harry usually declines to take selfies or give out autographs.

That wasn't the only royal family fan the broke tradition for, as they both warmly embraced 98-year-old Daphne Dunne while meeting the crowd. The war widow has already met Harry three times, stealing a kiss from the handsome duke back in 2015, Daphne managed to steal kiss from Harry, before pulling the same move when they reunited two years later.

So it's a shame that Meghan's unable to dictate the terms of her own beachwear, but let's be honest: she looks fabulous anyway, right?