Wednesday (25 September) was a special day for Meghan Markle. Not only was her visit to the opening of the Oceania exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts her first solo engagement as a fully-fledged member of the royal family – but it also fell on a special day.
September 25 marked exactly one year since she and Prince Harry were photographed together in public in an official capacity. A year ago on the Wednesday, the then-Suits actress attended the wheelchair tennis on day 3 of the Toronto Invictus Games 2017 along with Prince Harry, where the happy couple were pictured holding hands and looking very loved up indeed.
Just two months later, the couple announced their engagement and, well, here we are now. Meghan and Harry are now officially known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, they've been happily married for four months, and Meghan has been deemed so competent in her role as a royal that she's now flying solo with official engagements.
But while Meghan gives off the aura of being calm and confident at these royal events, her arrival at the Oceania exhibit yesterday revealed one tiny indication that she's still learning about traditional royal practice.
As Meghan emerged from the chauffeur-driven car she arrived in last night, she was greeted by one of the event's hosts. The Duchess then proceeded to shut the car door behind her before walking into the building, which sounds pretty normal, right?
Except that the small act of closing the car door actually goes against common royal practice. Because how many times have you ever seen Queen Elizabeth or Kate Middleton closing their own car door behind them? Very rarely.
While it's not formal 'royal protocol', it's incredibly unusual for a royal to close their own car door behind them, and in response to Meghan's small act of 'normality', people have been praising her for remaining "down to earth" despite her new title.
Other people, meanwhile, don't think anyone should be praised for a simple act like closing a car door - whether they're a 'Royal Highness' or not.
(Images: Getty)
Via Cosmopolitan UK
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