Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle’s One-Shoulder Gowns Spark ‘Double Standard’ Debate

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle’s one-shoulder gowns recently sparked a “double standard” debate.

On Sunday, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended BAFTAs together and a lot of netizens praised Middleton’s white, one-shoulder Alexander McQueen gown. Prince William’s wife received impressive comments from the press and the public because she looked like a “goddess,” and she was “angelic” and “stunning.”

Months ago, Middleton’s sister-in-law, Markle, wore a similar dress. The Duchess of Sussex donned a black one-shoulder Givenchy gown at the British Fashion Awards. At the time, Markle was criticized for her choice of dress and was accused of breaking a royal protocol for wearing it.

A number of netizens noticed how the trolls and the press reacted differently when Middleton and Markle do the same thing. One netizen claimed that if Markle would wear the same dress as the one Middleton sported on the same event, she would be heavily criticized and concluded that a “double standard” is at play.

“[Kate] looked so good but imagine the slander meghan would have got for wearing that ... double standards #BAFTA,” User chloe wrote on Twitter.

“That’s funny, i thought kate middleton’s dress broke royal protocol or do those criticisms only apply to meghan markle?” one netizen pointed out.

“No hate against the #DutchessOfCambridge, she looked beautiful at the #BAFTAs, but the #DutchessOfSussex received SOOOOOO much hate for ‘breaking protocol’ wearing an off-the-shoulder dress, yet Kate is being praised,” a different user posted the questioned if the hate toward Markle is because of her being black or American.

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Just recently, Kensington Palace reacted to the online trolls that keep attacking the Duchess of Cambridge and Duchess of Sussex. However, not all netizens agreed with the palace’s statement.

According to one netizen, there was “false equivalency” because Markle is more abused than Middleton. Another user named Rebecca added that Middleton has never been abused by the media and insisted that the royal mom of three is safe from the racist “British media.”

A number of netizens agreed that the British media is "ruthless" and "brutal" toward the pregnant royal. They feel that the press is nitpicking Markle more than Middleton.