Meghan Markle Channels Princess Diana’s Off-Duty Style

Meghan Markle’s new Netflix lifestyle series With Love, Meghan premieres in eight days, and in advance of its airing, the duchess took to Instagram to share a glimpse of the garden at the Montecito home where she lives with Prince Harry. Writing on her Instagram Story that she took a “small break from work to soak in the weekend,” she included a selfie that showed her wearing a purple Northwestern University crewneck sweatshirt.

Meghan attended the university near Chicago from 1999 to 2003, when she graduated with a double major in theater and international relations. Coincidentally, Harry’s mother Princess Diana once stepped out in a similar sweatshirt, which she picked up on a June 1996 visit to the school, where she appeared at a breast cancer symposium. The trip was intended to raise awareness and funds for Northwestern’s Robert H. Lurie Cancer Center, Gilda’s Club, the charity founded by Gene Wilder in honor of his late wife, Gilda Radner, and the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, which counted Diana as its patron. (After her cancer diagnosis in 2024, Kate Middleton received some of her treatment at the Royal Marsden and last month she joined Prince William as one of its new patrons.)

During the visit, she attended a gala at the Field Museum, dressed in a memorable purple Gianni Versace gown. In 2016, former Northwestern president Henry Bienen told the Chicago Tribune that he asked what her inspiration for the dress was. “I asked her… ‘Did you wear purple because of Northwestern, or because of royal purple?’” said Bienen. “She just laughed. She never answered.” At the gala, she danced with TV host Phil Donahue and was serenaded by Tony Bennett, before meeting Deloris Jordan, the mother of Bulls’ phenom Michael Jordan. The next night she attended Game 1 of the NBA final where the Chicago Bulls took on the Seattle SuperSonics and she saw Jordan in action. She took home autographed gear for Harry and William and a few weeks later was spotted at a Chelsea gym wearing her Northwestern sweater and a pair of white biker shorts.

Though it’s likely Meghan has the sweatshirt in memory of her own days as a Wildcat, her wardrobe has often paid homage to her late mother-in-law and her jewelry collection contains some of Diana’s most beloved pieces. Last year, she debuted Diana’s diamond and gold cross during a trip to Nigeria, and earlier this month, she wore the hand-me-down Cartier Tank Watch while she watched competitors at the Invictus Games.