How will Kate counter Markle’s sparkle?
They’re both beauties. But as Meghan copies her curls with a cooler twist . . .
Both attractive brunettes, both 35, both with a Prince on their arm. It’s becoming increasingly difficult not to compare the Duchess of Cambridge with Meghan Markle. With rumours of a royal engagement on the cards, we’re likely to be seeing a lot more of the American actress, especially now she’s been invited to the evening do at Pippa’s wedding next month.
this week, stepping out during a break in filming for her tV drama Suits, Meghan looked more like Kate than ever. With bouncy, lustrous curls replacing her usual straight locks, she seemed to have taken a few hairstyling tips from harry’s sister-inlaw, who has been sporting this look for months.
But while the two women’s similarities are often commented upon, on closer inspection, they certainly aren’t as alike as they first appear.
Why? Because there are key differences in their style. Put bluntly, compared with Meghan, the Duchess can look, well, a tad frumpy.
take the latest pictures. While Meghan had soft, beach- style waves with a trendy middle parting, Kate — pictured out and about at a London marathon event — wore tightly coiled ringlets with a side-sweeping fringe.
Meghan paired her new look with minimal make-up, silver-rimmed sunglasses and a denim shirt. Kate, meanwhile, dressed down in a mumsy striped jumper, dark eyeshadow and dated coral lipstick.
And it’s not the first time that super-cool Meghan has outshone the Duchess.
here, we demonstrate how, in everything from musical taste to shopping habits, holiday destinations to pets, harry’s girlfriend is just a little bit sassy — and cooler — than yummy mummy Kate . . .
ALL MADE-UP VS AU NATUREL
though she’s toned down the heavy eyeliner and ‘Scouse’ brow, the Duchess of Cambridge still lacks sophisticated tastes when it comes to make-up.
go-to beauty products are said to be urban Decay’s eye shadow palette (£39.50), Bobbi Brown foundation (£34) and Lancome hypnose mascara (£23.50).
While Kate is often quite heavily made-up for public engagements — no doubt to hide the eyebags that plague all sleep- deprived mums — Meghan, who’s seven months older than the Duchess, prefers the natural look.
‘I wear so much make-up for work that when I have a day off, I don’t like to wear it at all,’ she said. ‘I’ll put on moisturiser, a little bit of highlighter on my cheekbones and that’s it.’
her favourite products are all trendier than Kate’s buys: Chanel Stylo Yeux long-lasting eyeliner (£21), Charlotte tilbury hot Lips lipstick (£24) and Nars ‘orgasm’ blusher (£23).
though both wear Jo Malone perfume, Kate plumps for the ubiquitous orange Blossom, while Meghan spritzes herself with the more unusual Wood Sage & Sea Salt scent.
And while the Duchess’s hair is done by Richard Ward, a safe Sloane choice, Meghan turns to celebrity coiffeur Michael Silva.
ESSENTIALS VS ORGANIC CHIC
KAte is a Waitrose girl and is often seen wheeling a trolley packed with essentials around the aisles of the premium supermarket.
her other shopping staple is Peter Jones, the department store in her beloved Chelsea, where she buys outfits for herself, the children — and occasionally drags along her husband.
they’re just the sort of sensible Sloaney shopping destinations you would expect of the wife of the future King.
But once again it is Meghan who wears the Crown of Cool. Last year, she was spotted hiding under one of harry’s caps as she ducked into Whole Foods, the American organic produce market, just a stone’s throw away from Kensington Palace.
the store, whose famous fans include model Rosie huntingtonWhiteley, actress Jessica Alba and pop star taylor Swift, is the ultimate haunt for chic celebrities with more money than sense.
Produce includes £5 ‘asparagus water’, ‘ornamental kale’ for £4.50 a bunch and £24 emu eggs.
CHEESY TUNES VS FESTIVAL PLAYLIST
though dad dancer William has shown a penchant for hip hop (he was videoed boogying to the song I got 5 on It by hip hop duo Luniz in a Verbier club while on a skiing holiday last month), Kate’s music tastes are rather more middle of the road.
At her wedding in 2011, she requested Abba hits on the dance floor, as well as a host of cheesy eighties classics from Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran and the musical grease.
Meghan, meanwhile, wouldn’t be seen dead wiggling her hips to Dancing Queen.
As a playlist uploaded to her blog, the tig, showed, she has far more eclectic tastes. Among the songs she recommended are hits by littleknown bands that are more familiar to festival- goers than straight-laced Royals.
her favourites include British electronic/ folk band Crystal Fighters, Norwegian singersongwriter Mr Little Jeans and the Australian electronic duo Flight Facilities.
Meghan urged her fans to ‘turn these tracks on as you’re getting ready in the morning, when you need a mid-afternoon pick-me-up or during your next evening celebration.’
SHOP BUYER VS RACY CAREER
WhILe Kate spent most of her 20s waiting for her Prince (while briefly dabbling in accessories buying for fashion chain Jigsaw), Meghan has slogged her way up the career ladder.
She graduated in 2003 with a double major in theatre and international relations — already one up on Kate’s history of art from St Andrew’s — and went on to work as a freelance calligrapher to finance her acting dream. She secured roles in films get him to the greek (with Russell Brand) and horrible Bosses (with Jennifer Aniston) before being hired as seductive paralegal Rachel Zane in u.S. series Suits in 2011.
the role has seen her strip down to her underwear for a racy sex scene, while footage from a previous job saw her character performing a lewd act in a car.
though she is said to be thinking of giving up acting to focus on charity projects, she has strong views on women in the workplace, urging girls to ‘focus less on glass slippers and more on pushing through glass ceilings’.
SLOANE RANGERS VS GIRL SQUAD
KAte has a small, discreet group of female friends, many of whom she has known since her days at Marlborough College.
She’s closest to emilia JardinePaterson, godmother to Prince george, a former schoolfriend who
runs an interior design company and helped Kate redecorate her Kensington Palace apartment.
There’s also Sophie Carter, another godmother and a former nursery teacher; fellow mum and old classmate Trini Foyle; and Rebecca Deacon, her confidante and former private secretary, who recently left her role to get married.
All are well-bred, well-behaved women from similar backgrounds to Kate, who prioritise the Duchess’s privacy and understand her desire for a low-key life.
The same can’t be said for Meghan’s girl squad. While in Los Angeles, she hangs around with super- cool stylist Jessica Mulroney, as well as tennis champion Serena Williams.
She’s assembling a gang of formidable females here, among them Quality Street heiress Millie Mackintosh, food blogger Deliciously Ella, actress and philanthropist Priyanka Chopra and singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor.
SECRET SOCIETY VS SOCIAL MEDIA
KATE has never been seen with a mobile phone, though it’s suspected that she — like Harry — may have a secret social media account.
Here’s hoping, because Meghan lives much of her life online, sharing every cough and splutter with her 1.5 million fans on photo- sharing site Instagram (and, to a lesser extent, her 370,000 followers on Twitter).
It was here the world glimpsed the matching beaded bracelets that blew the cover on her and Harry’s romance, and it’s here where Meghan shares everything from ‘inspirational’ quotes (‘Throw kindness around like confetti,’ reads one) to photographs from her latest holiday (destinations include California, Capri, Madrid and Ibiza).
She’s posted a lot less since her Royal relationship became public and even closed her lifestyle blog, The Tig.
ALCOHOL FREE VS EXPENSIVE WINE
LITTLE is known about Kate’s favourite foods, other than that she likes spicy dishes (she admitted to being a fan of curries ahead of her 2016 trip to India) and adores lamb, which she chose for her wedding reception in 2011.
Chef Raghu Deora, charged with creating dishes for the Royal couple’s stay at the Taj Mahal, was told they ‘preferred’ meat-free options.
Meghan’s well-travelled palate couldn’t be more different from Kate’s traditional tastes. Her Instagram account abounds with pictures of exotic foods: Japanese sushi and sashimi; shakshuka (a baked tomato and egg dish) and vegan salad.
She’s often seen with a glass of red wine in hand: her favourite is Tignanello, a sophisticated red costing upwards of £80 a bottle. Good girl Kate is thought to have given up drinking alcohol since having children.
HOME-BRED HOUND VS RESCUE PUPS
PHoToGEnIC cocker spaniel Lupo won the nation’s hearts when he appeared in a family portrait with newborn Prince George, taken by Kate’s father Michael in 2014.
The five-year- old canine, bred by Kate’s parents, was given to them as a puppy and has been a loyal companion ever since. He has a book, Lupo And The Secret of Windsor Castle, dedicated to his doggy exploits at the Palace.
But Meghan manages to go one up yet again. She has two pups, Bogart (a labrador/German shepherd mix) and Guy (a beagle), both rescue dogs.
To animal-lover Meghan, dogs are so much more than just pets. Her policy is ‘adopt don’t shop’, meaning she frowns on anyone who pays money for a pedigree pooch.
QUEEN WAG VS FIERCE FEMINIST
AS THE real-life embodiment of every girl’s princess fantasy, Kate is about as far from a feminist icon as you can possibly get.
In 2013, feminist Joan Smith declared her ‘Queen Wag’, writing: ‘By the age of 30, the new Duchess of Cambridge had done little since leaving university except play a supporting role to her boyfriend, marry him with great pomp and ceremony, and get pregnant.
‘She had never enjoyed an independent identity or income — even her clothes were paid for by her father-in-law — and didn’t seem to aspire to either.’
outspoken Meghan insists she’s been a feminist since the tender age of 11.
Like fellow actress and social warrior Emma Watson, she’s a Un Women’s Advocate and has given impassioned speeches in honour of International Women’s Day, the cause celeb du jour.
NIGHT ON THE SOFA VS DINNER IN JAMAICA
THESE days, a night in without a gala dinner or diplomatic engagement counts as date night for Kate and Wills, who are said to enjoy nothing more than curling up with a box set.
Meghan and Harry, however, are still in the throes of new romance, so they’re making more of an effort.
If whisking her away to Jamaica for a friend’s wedding wasn’t cool enough, Harry took Meghan for dinner in a candlelit cave on the island, where for £250a-head the pair dined on lobster, jerk chicken and coconut pudding.
Last month, he arranged for the couple to have a private, after-hours visit to the natural History Museum — the ultimate activity for trendy young Londoners.