Meghan Markle is kicking off the holidays early — and not everyone is feeling the cheer.
On Saturday, November 15, the Duchess of Sussex, 44, appeared in a new Instagram video from her lifestyle brand As Ever, happily decorating for Christmas. Meghan looked relaxed and polished in a shimmering brown satin outfit while hanging a beige-and-brown stocking inside a room decorated entirely in warm neutral tones. Her signature sleek bun matched the muted, minimal aesthetic.
“Oh, we see you! Not even Thanksgiving yet and you’ve already got this in the bag,” As Ever teased in the caption.
The brand launched its 2025 holiday collection on October 25, promising pieces “thoughtfully curated to elevate every occasion.” But when Meghan’s video dropped, the reaction wasn’t quite the festive rollout the brand may have hoped for.
With early-2000s color explosions and nostalgic, bold Christmas décor trending again, Meghan’s beige-on-beige setup sparked instant backlash. Many viewers felt the look blended more into the background than into holiday spirit.
One critic on X didn’t mince words: “Where are the Christmas colors? Where is the festiveness? Where’s the ‘Merry and bright?’ This is bland, beige, boring browns. There is not one thing that says ‘holiday cheer’ in this clip. It’s depressing, unseasoned manila envelope drabness.”
Another joked, “#MeghanMarkle doesn’t know #RalphLaurenChristmas,” referencing the classic red, green and plaid palette her muted setup avoided entirely.
Others wondered why her décor seemed so toned down, especially with two young children at home. “Are there no young children in the house? I went crazy as a young mom reliving my childhood through the kids, I decorated everything and Santa was coming! Is Markle not inspired by anyone, anything?” one person wrote.
Another viewer contrasted Meghan’s aesthetic with their own traditions: “I’ve always done a traditional style Christmas. Tree with white lights, red poinsettia bows, glass and metallic ornaments and tinsel.”
Many echoed a similar sentiment: “I think she’s going high end and sleek, but it looks bland and boring.”
The conversation even resurfaced Meghan’s past comments about preferring neutral colors — something she discussed in the third episode of the 2022 Netflix series Meghan & Harry.
“Most of the time I was in the U.K., I rarely wore color,” she said, explaining that she avoided bright shades to respect royal protocol. “To my understanding, you can’t ever wear the same color as Her Majesty… but then you also shouldn’t be wearing the same colour as one of the other more senior members of the family.”
Fans immediately connected those remarks to her new holiday décor. One summed it up simply: “She loves those bland earthy colours of beige, browns… Nothing ever looks festive, warm, or inviting.”
