Call me royal DO IT LIKE A DUCHESS!
Expert Myka knows the tricks of the trade
Americans have long been enchanted by the British royal family – and their obsession has only intensified since May, when nearly 30 million Stateside viewers tuned in to watch Prince Harry marry one of their own, the Californian-born Duchess of Sussex.
Now some are taking their fixation to the next level by enrolling in a “Duchess Effect” course at The Plaza Hotel in New York to learn how to act just like one of the Windsors.
Myka Meier, owner of Beaumont Etiquette, says classes are sold out this year, as are many of her other courses, which teach people the dos and don’ts of royal life.
“Americans are fascinated by the royal family partly because we don’t have one ourselves, but also because we all grew up watching Disney fairytales like Cinderella and just across the pond was a real royal family,” she explains. “But now, more than ever, the average American woman is saying, ‘Hey, wait a second – if Meghan Markle from California can become a duchess, anyone can!’”
And while Meghan and Harry’s marriage may have had all the perfect ingredients for whipping up royal fever in the US, Myka says we shouldn’t underestimate the drawcard of Princess Eugenie’s wedding to Jack Brooksbank.
Myka has met both Eugenie and her sister Princess Beatrice and gives them 100% on the royal etiquette scorecard. She gushes, “They are the sweetest girls you could hope to meet and very genuine. They both had great posture and great eye contact, and their voice and verbiage was everything you would
expect from the perfect princess.”
With both princesses born into the royal family, Myka feels they don’t want the same level of attention given to Meghan and her sister-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge. “I don’t think they want the glitz and glamour to distract from their everyday lives.”
While Myka believes Eugenie’s wedding doesn’t present the same attraction as Harry and Meghan’s nuptials because he was “arguably the most eligible bachelor in the world”, she still reckons a healthy number of Americans will be tuning in.
Florida-born Myka, 36, started teaching etiquette classes after doing dozens herself in different countries. “It became a project for me, a chance to learn about different cultures, and when I enrolled in a formal finishing school in Switzerland, it became my craft.”
She teaches women how to glide down a staircase, how to walk in both heels and flats, how to do a Windsor wave, and how to drink from a wine glass in just one place so as not to spread lipstick all over the rim. Course attendees also learn how to dress, do their make-up and style their hair like a princess.
But nothing is as important as the “Duchess Slant”. Myka explains, “This is a term I created for a style of sitting that has been very notable among duchesses for many years. The most famous and iconic image of this was Lady Diana sitting in front of the Taj Mahal, and the Duchess of Cambridge also does it.
“You sit in a chair, don’t use the arm rests, keep your knees and ankles together at all times, then take your knees and slant them to the left or the right, keeping your heels on the floor and pointing your knees downward. This is a very important way to sit if you have a camera or people looking at you face-on. By angling downwards, it protects your modesty because no-one can see anything you don’t want them to and it is also a very elegant way to sit.”
There is also the “Cambridge Cross”, made famous by Kate, where you keep your knees together but cross your ankles, and Meghan’s favoured “Sussex Slant”, which came about when Meghan once crossed her ankles and slanted her legs while sitting next to the Queen.
Myka recalls, “That one went viral for 40 hours, but she wasn’t doing anything wrong and, in fact, Diana did it – it’s still a respectable way to sit.”
Myka is slightly horrified at the news that Meghan will participate in gumboot throwing on her visit with Prince Harry to New Zealand this month. “What an interesting thing to do!” she says diplomatically, adding that the duchess will no doubt maintain her royal etiquette while giving it a good go.
“Meghan will come out there and wow everybody by being the most elegant gumboot thrower they might have seen in quite some time.”