Perfectly made-up in a palette of neutrals, with her glossy locks cascading down her back, their brunette hue the only contrast to be seen in her perfectly serene surroundings, Meghan Markle appears in her latest Netflix debut as the lovechild of ASMR videos and Martha Stewart. 

That is, until, the cameras pan down to her feet which, while still incredibly delicate and well-groomed, are entirely without shoes, even socks, even when she’s gardening. 

And even more than her revelations throughout the show that she loves doughnuts and refers to ladybirds as ‘ladybugs’ signalling some cultural differences between her sunny Californian upbringing and her husband Prince Harry’s buttoned up boyhood, it’s the ‘barefoot bombshell’ that has made everything (including the time she opened the door to the Princess of Wales sockless) make sense. 

Now an insider says that Meghan, 43, is at her happiest when her friends and family bin their Blahniks at the door. 

An insider says, ‘Meghan is obviously a believer that walking around barefoot paves the way for a more sensory experience. 

‘She filmed her Netflix show barefoot and her celebrity guests were encouraged to toss off their shoes and join her. She wants everyone to experience the sensation. 

‘She insists that everyone removes their shoes before they step into her house, socks are okay, but bare feet are better and will get her total approval – and even their staffers must follow Meghan’s rules.’ 

Indeed, Meghan’s guests, including Mindy Kaling, Abigail Spencer and sweetly, her mum Doria Ragland, didn’t bat an eyelid when behind-the-scenes clips emerged of Meghan dancing and prancing around her kitchen, carrying hot plates, canapés and cocktails all while wearing nothing at all on her feet. 

However, Meghan previously secretly hinted during her 2022 Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan that it was her barefoot brazenness that may have contributed to the entire fallout between Prince Harry and his family, particularly his brother Prince William. 

Recalling her first meeting with William and Kate Middleton, the future King and Queen of England – a country that is notoriously reserved when it comes to bare feet, with ‘upper-class’ women only showing their ‘lust-inducing’ ankles in the 1900s – Meghan said, ‘Even when Will and Kate came over and I met her for the first time, they came over for dinner and I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot.’ 

She added, ‘It’s like I was a hugger, I’ve always been a hugger. I didn’t realise that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.’ 

But despite the misjudgement in etiquette of ‘lunging’ at the then Duchess of Cambridge in shredded jeans and no shoes, the source says Meghan finds going barefoot a ‘grounding’ experience. 

So much so, she also gardens without a sock in sight (presumably not in the family’s famous chicken coop). 

‘Walking around barefoot at home has a calming influence on Meghan. She’s been kicking off her shoes the minute she walks in the door for as long as she can remember,’ the source shares. 

‘But Meghan is just as comfortable walking around barefoot in her garden as she is in the house. It allows for a deeper connection to the plants and earth.’ 

Meghan, whose mum Doria Ragland is a yoga teacher, has long been a fan of spiritual practices – installing a yoga studio into her and Harry’s former UK home of Frogmore cottage. 

And the insider says her love of the exercise has hugely contributed to her barefoot ritual, despite putting some people off. 

They add, ‘No doubt she gets this from her years of practicing yoga. She finds it very grounding and balancing and posture-improving. 

‘Meghan clearly is a believer that going barefoot improves the strength of her feet, her arches, ankles and calves, that the grounding improves circulation and even sleep.

 ‘A lot of people think it’s weird, but it’s all part of her Zen world.’

And now we hear that Harry, 40, has also taken the leap across the cultural chasm from his own previously pomp-ful planet to Meghan’s ‘Zen’ world. 

In 2021, when the couple released a series of professional photos showing Meghan’s pregnancy with Lilibet, now three (they also share son Archie, five), Harry was very much barefoot. So much so, that the soles of his feet facing the camera almost eclipsed Meghan’s pregnancy bump. 

The sign of a ‘happily unburdened’ Prince, cried royal reporters, and now our source says Harry is now so happy sans shoes that he’s even going for regular pedicures. 

They share, ‘Of course, Meghan is very fastidious about foot care and her feet are always clean and well-groomed and now Harry is a follower of her foot fetishes. 

‘He walks around barefoot and has become a devotee of pedicures, too. In fact, one of the first things he noticed about her in their early days was how pretty her feet were.’ 

However, like Kim Kardashian’s famous ‘bum rituals’, Meghan’s salubrious soles come at a cost – in both time and money. 

Not only does Meghan visit Montecito’s most upmarket beauty salons (previously revealing that she opts for shellac nails in befitting shades such as ‘Romantique’ and ‘Cashmere wrap’), the source says she also follows strict daily rules at home. 

They reveal, ‘Meghan is just as fastidious about foot health. Washing, drying, and moisturising are part of her daily ritual. And anyone who knows Meghan also knows she has regular pedicures and foot massages and uses special creams for feet.’ 

Her rigorous routines also extend to fashion-lover Meghan’s red carpet looks, with sources revealing her inside trick to keep her toes free from the bunions and blisters all-too-common with sky-scraping stilettos.

‘The times that Meghan is required to wear high heels, she always goes for a larger size to avoid blisters and swelling, especially when she’s required to stand for long periods of time,’ the source explains. 

‘She can wear pumps and stilettos with confidence without any adverse effects now. It’s all down to her devotion to footcare.’