LEARNING HER PLACE
Meghan will have to curtsy to everyone higher on the pecking order than her husband – even to Prince George and Princess Charlotte
Technically, if Meghan, who plays sassy paralegal Rachel Zane in the hit US series Suits, does marry Harry she won’t be known as Princess Meghan.
Like Kate and Harry’s mom, Diana, she won’t be allowed to carry the title of “princess” before her first name.
Those titles are reserved for princesses by birth (think little Princess Charlotte) and that’s why Kate is the Duchess of Cambridge and Diana’s official title was Diana, Princess of Wales.
But if whispers among royal-watchers are to be believed (YOU, 28 September), Meghan may well become a duchess.
Prince Harry, like his big brother, will probably be granted a dukedom after his marriage and Queen Elizabeth is believed to have the title Duke of Sussex in mind for her grandson – which would make Meghan the Duchess of Sussex.
Unfortunately, even duchesses have to do a bit of bowing and scraping. As Harry’s wife, Meghan will have to curtsy to everyone higher on the pecking order than her husband.
As Harry is fifth in line to the throne, that means Meghan will have to curtsy to the queen, of course, but even to Prince George (4) and Princess Charlotte (2). When their new sibling comes along, the tot will outrank Harry and Meghan too, knocking the prince down to number six in order of succession and adding another curtsy to Meghan’s repertoire.
But etiquette aside, her biggest lesson will be on coping with the excessive media attention that will go hand-in-hand with marrying Harry. This was something Diana desperately struggled with when she became Prince Charles’ wife-in-waiting at just 19.
Still, Meghan is no naive part-time preschool teacher – the American divorcée has had plenty of practice dealing with the media in her career. But becoming a member of the royal family would take things to a new level.
When it first emerged she and Harry were an item, the palace – at the prince’s prodding – released a statement defending his new lady love against a “wave of abuse and harassment”.
“It’s not right that a few months into a relationship with him Ms Markle should be subjected to such a storm,” the uncharacteristically candid statement issued by Kensington Palace read.
“He knows commentators will say this is ‘the price she has to pay’ and that ‘this is all part of the game’. He strongly disagrees. This isn’t a game – it’s her life and his.”
Meghan, whose face now frequently beams out from magazines and newspapers on UK newsstands, seems to be comfortable enough while out and about with her beau.
Initially her approach was truly Hollywood – smiling and being pleasant, according to a source close to Harry. But some critics interpreted her openness as “loving the attention”. Now, she’s learnt to adopt a more reserved attitude and demure expresYour
sions while on the streets of London or Toronto, where she’s filming season 7 of Suits. “A lot of advice on handling her public affairs has come from Harry’s team,” the prince’s source told Us Weekly. That advice involves less frequent posting on social media – which explains Meghan’s now-dormant Instagram account – and ignoring “press-hungry relatives”. This seems to have been perfect advice for dealing with Meghan’s estranged half-sister, Samantha Grant, who’s had plenty of nasty things to say about her “social-climbing” sister. “Eventually the people trying to create an opportunity for themselves will disappear,” the source added.