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Will Meghan Markle still have to curtsy to the Duchess of Cambridge?

Meghan Markle will still have to curtsy to the Duchess of Cambridge [Photo: Getty]
Meghan Markle will still have to curtsy to the Duchess of Cambridge [Photo: Getty]

Meghan Markle is officially a royal! She’s got her own page on the official royal family website, she’s made her first appearance as the newly-titled Duchess of Sussex and she seems to be abiding by the royal rules (if those tights are anything to go by!)

But not all royals are created equal and even though there are now two Duchess’ on the block, Meghan will still have to curtsy to her new sister-in-law, the Duchess of Cambridge.

The reason, according to Metro UK, is all to do with royal ranking.

Despite being made a Duchess following her marriage to Prince Harry on Saturday, the Duchess of Cambridge still outranks Meghan.

That’s because the Duchess of Cambridge is married to Prince William, who is currently second in the line of succession to the thrown.

Not all Duchess’ are equal in the royal rankings [Photo: Getty]
Not all Duchess’ are equal in the royal rankings [Photo: Getty]

This means Kate will one day be called Queen Consort, a title given to the wives of Kings, and it’s this that bumps her above Meghan in the royal ranks.

Meghan must therefore curtsy to Kate and anyone else ranking above her in the Royal Family.

Things get a little more complicated when it comes to curtsying to other members of the royal family, like Harry’s cousins Beatrice and Eugenie.

Princess Beatrice is eight in line to the throne, while Eugenie is ninth, but as Prince Harry is sixth in line to the throne and Meghan is his wife, she won’t have to curtsy to the Princesses as technically she outranks them.

But if Harry isn’t there everything changes and Meghan will have to curtsy to them as then they technically outrank her.

According to Metro, the Duchess of Sussex will never have to curtsy to Zara Phillips, however, as Zara is not a Princess so will never outrank Meghan.

Confused? Us too.

Meghan Markle may now be a Duchess but she still ranks below the Duchess of Cambridge [Photo: Getty]
Meghan Markle may now be a Duchess but she still ranks below the Duchess of Cambridge [Photo: Getty]

Believe it or not the royal rules were actually put together to try and clarify things, particularly with regards to the role of Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall in the Royal Family, following her marriage to Charles, Prince Of Wales.

News of the Duchess of Sussex’s ranking in the curtsy stakes, comes after it emerged she is to receive ‘training’ to become an effective royal.

To give the former actress a helping hand in learning the royal ropes, the Duchess will be schooled by the Queen’s assistant private secretary, Samantha Cohen.

It is believed that Meghan will spend the next six months learning the royal ropes.



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