The Mail on Sunday

Why Meghan struggles to know her place

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SHE’S certainly nobody’s fool but I hear the Duchess of Sussex has found it hard to get her head around society seating plans. There are three rules about what is known as

placement. The first is one must always pronounce it in the French way, emphasisin­g all three syllables to avoid sounding ‘common’ or, God forbid, American. Secondly, couples should never be put together to avoid a public display of affection putting guests off their food. And finally, so as not to disrupt the intricate social balancing act that is placement, one must always sit where placed. The clue, after all, is in the name. So imagine the horror when Meghan first burst into Prince Harry’s dinner party circuit and dismissed the etiquette as ‘exclusive’ and ‘traditiona­l’ (terms that it should be noted are rarely used disparagin­gly in Royal circles).

The Duchess has been insisting on sitting next to her Prize Prince ever since, rejoicing in those affectiona­te dinner-table PDAs. Kinder members of society roll their eyes and whisper that the poor lamb can’t help being Américaine. The less forgiving have just stopped inviting her to dinner.

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