Meghan Markle is selling the clothes she wore. Queen Letizia is renting hers. Different approaches, the same message: for royal houses, wearing new clothes at every appearance is no longer a sign of prestige - it's a sign of bad taste.

Meghan partnered with an AI-based platform through which her followers can buy items she wore - the clothes from her Australia tour were available for sale almost immediately. Letizia chose a different path: for one appearance in July 2024 she rented a linen dress worth 600 euros for just 110 euros over four days, through a Spanish rental company.

But the real master of repeating is Letizia herself. She wore one patterned green dress eight times between December 2018 and October 2023 - and never looked like she was repeating, but like she knows what suits her. She is internationally known for bringing the same piece back without shame, choosing timeless cuts over momentary trends.

The same goes for jewellery. Mary of Denmark has worn the same earrings and a pearl pendant over 50 times since 2016. Kate Middleton regularly wears Princess Diana's jewellery. Europe's royal houses recycle inherited jewellery across generations - not out of thrift, but because the history built into a single piece is worth more than anything new.

Behind all of it is a message that turns the rule of fashion upside down: real luxury is no longer having new, but not needing new. Circular fashion, until recently a topic for environmental activists, is now a tool for prestige at the top. And when millionaires start renting dresses, maybe it's a sign that for us, the ordinary ones, wearing the same nice shirt again isn't a shame - it's smart.