When Meghan Markle and Prince Harry announced their engagement back in 2017, many remarked that she would be a breath of fresh air to the traditional British royal family.
An actress, a humanitarian and an American to boot, Meghan was nothing like any other woman who had married into the fold and marked a new era, even though she’s no longer technically a senior royal.
However, fans have noticed that the Duchess of Sussex has several similarities to another person who married into the Firm – her stepmother-in-law, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
Whilst Meghan and the late Princess Diana have much in common including their status as style icons and frankness when it comes to mental health, the Duchess of Sussex and the Duchess of Cornwall also have a unique bond.
According to a report by the Mail on Sunday, Camilla invited Meghan to private lunches in the lead up to her 2018 royal wedding.
“Meg was really grateful to Camilla who was very supportive and invited her out for private lunches, particularly around the time of her marriage,” a friend told the publication.
“She listened to her and understood that it’s really difficult joining the Royal Family from an otherwise ‘normal’ life.”
The source added” “Camilla had experienced a lot of negative press and hostility from courtiers due to her relationship with Charles when he was still married to Diana.”
“Meg was really grateful to Camilla who was very supportive and invited her out for private lunches, particularly around the time of her marriage.”
(Image: Getty)The duo are also passionate about women’s rights and it’s mirrored in the causes they’ve championed.
Camilla’s royal work strives to highlight the serious issue of rape and sexual assault and the importance of confidential services at rape crisis centres.
In 2013 she created a Wash Bag initiative, providing Sexual Assault Referral Centres (or SARCs) with wash bags, containing shampoo, shower gel and other toiletries, given to those referred to the centres to use after their forensic examinations.
“It is a small something to make women and girls who go through such a terrible ordeal just a little bit more human again,” she said in 2015 when she wrote exclusively for the Daily Mail.
“It won’t change what has happened but might offer a small crumb of comfort.”
Both duchesses are passionate champions of women’s rights.
(Image: Getty)Meghan, meanwhile, identified as a feminist long before Prince Harry came along.
During her 2018 royal tour of New Zealand, the Duchess of Sussex made a speech about women’s suffrage in New Zealand and one of her former royal patronages was Smartworks, a charity that offers unemployed women with interview clothing and coaching to help with upcoming job interviews.
Now that she has left the royal family, Meghan has continued to champion women through her and Harry’s foundation Archewell.
The couple called on fans to “unleash a groundswell of real acts of compassion for the women in your life and in your community” for International Women’s Day 2021 and suggested donating to local maternity wards and food kitchens and supporting female-led businesses.
Fans noticed Meghan and Camilla (right) both wear cross bracelets.
(Images: Getty)The two have also shared some fashion twinning moments that you may have missed.
According to PEOPLE, Meghan’s 18-carat white gold cross bracelet is meant to signify Meghan’s baptism into the Church of England since she was brought up as an Episcopalian.
Camilla has a similar cross bracelet that she wears on her wrist – the Duchess of Cornwall’s first husband Andrew Parker Bowles was Catholic and her children were also raised in the Catholic faith.
What’s more, the royals were both seen sporting the same DeMellier handbag – Meghan during an engagement in 2018 and Camilla a year later.
Camilla was also supportive of Meghan after she spoke about her mental health struggles in the documentary Harry and Meghan: An African Journey.
“I think Camilla was probably just as surprised as anyone else when the documentary came out and perhaps didn’t realise how much Harry and Meghan were suffering,” a source told Vanity Fair‘s royal editor Katie Nicholl.
“She wants everyone to get along and be happy. Her mantra is carry on and keep smiling. She doesn’t want to see anyone struggling and she is fond of Meghan and she could be a very good ally too.”
