In recent days Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, was photographed leaving an NYC restaurant, Harry in tow, wearing a monochrome Gabriella Hearst jumpsuit which looks highly similar to a Roland Mouret gown worn by Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, to the Top Gun: Maverick premiere in May. Of course, this has re-sparked the never-ending conversation on who is copying who. While this particular outfit does seem rather usefully coincidental, it does both women a great disservice to suggest they copy each other's style, especially when they each choose timeless elements.

It is fair to say, regardless of who you do or don’t like, that Kate and Meghan are very different people, and this can also be seen in their personal fashion tastes. Kate leans on bright colours, florals and, in general, a more conservative approach, whereas Meghan prefers neutrals with clean lines and little fuss. It is also true to note that both women have been on their own personal fashion journeys, with their aesthetics slowly adapting with time.

While, on paper and even in photographs, their styles may seem polar opposites the truth is that they share one word: timeless. This is where the argument of ‘Kate copies Meghan’ and vice versa becomes redundant.

Neither woman is, to our knowledge, consciously copying the other, instead they are both drawing on particularly popular fashions of the past to inspire their current wardrobes and this means that, inevitably, they will sometimes end up wearing similar clothing. After all, one wouldn’t accuse ones cousin of copying if you both wore denim jeans and a white tee to a family function! You couldn't, because we can all agree that no one person owns such a classic outfit as the denim jeans and white tee.

So, why does Meghan now seemingly own the white pantsuit or long beige coat and Kate the floral midi dress? Ardent fans of both Duchesses also seem to, conveniently, forget that other Royal women wear incredibly similar outfits on a regular basis and they’re not accused of imitation. In 2017, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands wore the jumpsuit version of the black and white Roland Mouret gown that Kate wore to see Top Gun, therefore one can argue that she began that particular Royal ‘trend’. In January of this year, Kate was attacked by Meghan fans online for wearing a beige dress with a long beige coat because, of course (note sarcasm) she was copying Meghan. However, in March Queen Maxima wore an almost identical outfit and no one batted an eyelid. It wasn’t until April that Meghan was photographed in a similar outfit to both of the aforementioned women. So, who copied who?

In March while on their Caribean tour, Kate wore an Alexander McQueen white pantsuit with an orange blouse. In April, Princess Isabella of Denmark wore an all-white pantsuit. It was also in April that Meghan was photographed wearing an oversized white pantsuit, notably a very different style to the others. Kate re-wore her suit in June, and, also in June, Queen Letizia of Spain wore a similar styled white suit. Once again, who is copying who? Or, are white pantsuits just in trend at the moment!

This is all simply down to the fact that these Royal women wear timeless, and often trendless, garments. When timeless fashion items become trendy, they cannot be owned by one singular person. Fashion is universal, and it is to be interpreted and worn by many different people in many different ways. And while yes, sometimes you can point blank say that ‘this person is most likely copying for pr sakes’, the majority of the time it’s just fashion being fashion.