Meghan Markle Briefly Played Basketball In Heels — But, Please Don't

Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex, is known to be down with wellness. In her pre-royal days she ran a blog called The Tig, which often covered health topics like fitness and nutrition. And allegedly, she helped reform Prince Harry's health habits when their relationship became serious. Another thing that Markle is known for: heels. Specifically, she's known to wear heels that are a few sizes too big in order to prevent getting blisters.

These two Markle facts are seemingly unrelated, but earlier today, she was seen performing basketball (or "netball," as they say) drills in heels, at an event for the Royal Foundation's Coach Core program. The internet freaked out, with headlines reading, “Meghan Markle, Playing Basketball In Heels, Proves She’s Capable Of Anything,” and “Meghan Markle, Woman Of Many Talents, Played Basketball In Heels Today.” And there are videos on Twitter to prove it.

For royals, this is not really groundbreaking behavior. We know that the royals are allowed to work out, and often they’re required to be active during their public engagements, Grant Harrold, etiquette expert and former member of The Royal Household of TRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall, told Refinery29. Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge, iconically played several sports in wedges whilst performing her royal charity duties throughout the years. Royals are technically allowed to wear athletic apparel, Harrold said, so the heels must be a choice — and a controversial one at that.

But just because royals work out in heels doesn’t mean that you should, too. Wearing heels creates muscular imbalances, and inhibits your muscles in a way that basically makes it impossible to exercise, Jill Miller, creator of the corrective exercise format Yoga Tune Up and author of The Roll Model Method told Refinery29 back in 2017, when Mariah Carey posted a photo of herself working out in heels. "Typically high heels also have a tapered toe, and that narrows the distance between your toes and crams all the bones into a narrow space," Miller said. "It's like if you wrapped your hands in duct tape and say, 'Okay, type!'"

Who knows? Maybe Markle will rebel and start wearing sneakers the next time she knows she has an active function. If she was able to make ripped jeans and messy buns look royal, anything is possible.