Longtime readers know that I rarely pay attention to women’s shoes. I barely notice when celebrities or royals are wearing certain heels. I appreciate the shoe-obsessed ladies out there, and I’ve learned to pay more attention to shoewear. But I will always notice purses. Purses are *my* thing, I love a good purse and I’m a purse-obsessive. So the Daily Mail’s latest royal story is right up my alley – they’re comparing and contrasting the cost of various royals’ purse collections. The point is obviously to criticize the Duchess of Sussex and hype the Princess of Wales. But all I can say is that Meghan’s purse collection is the envy of most women, and Kate’s collection is not.
The Duchess of Sussex has a penchant for luxury fashion and has acquired a handbag collection worth $350,000, according to a retail expert. Meghan Markle, 44, has also spent between $35,000 and $40,000 on shoes since 2022, making the former Suits actress the royal with the most expensive accessory wardrobe.
Luxury retail specialist Christos Garkinos recently analysed the royal wardrobes of six women – including the Princess of Wales, Princess Anne, the Duchess of Edinburgh, and Queen Camilla – in what he called a ‘fascinating case study’. Mr Garkinos noted that, while his estimates are ‘purely directional’, Meghan has the highest per-item spend despite having a smaller collection than any of the other royals and the fewest number of official appearances.
‘Her mix [of shoes and bags] is smaller but higher-ticket,’ he told the Daily Mail. The Duchess’s mix comprises Dior’s iconic Lady bags, Fendi’s Peekaboo design, as well as minimalist pieces from Polène and Strathberry, Mr Garkinos added. She favours shoes designed by Aquazzura, Manolo, and Chanel.
‘Even with fewer official appearances, her accessories skew luxury-house core,’ he noted.
Meanwhile, Catherine, 43, ‘mixes approachable British brands with a few heritage investments’ for a timeless collection that’s worth around $305,000 in total. Most recently, royal fans rushed to get their hands on the chocolate brown DeMellier bag that Catherine debuted during her visit to the Anna Freud Centre last month. The petite Hudson worth £415, currently only available to pre-order for delivery next May, appears to be a new addition to what is already a sizeable accessories wardrobe.
‘However, what makes it valuable isn’t extravagance,’ Mr Garkinos said. ‘It’s balance. Catherine knows when to splurge and when to repeat, which is why her pieces age so well in the public eye.’ As far as bags go, the collection is ‘punctuated’ by Chanel and is believed to be worth around $250,000.
Queen Camilla’s shoes and handbags are likely worth $165,000 as Mr Garkinos said she is all about ‘loyalty to brand and comfort’. Over the years, Camilla has shown off an exquisite range of totes and clutches, but she seems to favour royal-endorsed Aspinal of London and Launer – the late Queen Elizabeth’s bag brand of choice.
While the Duchess of Edinburgh and Zara Tindall’s collections are estimated at around $40,000 each, Princess Anne is the ‘minimalist of the group’.
It’s so funny that they still like to pretend that Meghan is a “working royal” who does events in which they need to calculate how much she’s “spending.” Maybe 2026 will finally bring an end to their attempts to possess Meghan and her image. Anyway, longtime Keen-watchers might remember when Kate had no idea what to do about accessories, so she always wore beige pumps and carried sedate clutches for all of her events. That changed when, you guessed it, Meghan arrived on the scene. Meghan is such a good accessorizer – she has such an eye for jewelry, bags and shoes, and Kate noticed that too. So Kate started to copy her, even wearing or carrying the same brands she saw Meghan use. All of which to say… I bet Meghan’s purse collection is actually worth a lot more. But this guy has no idea because Meghan hasn’t lived there for SIX YEARS.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.
