Watching Trooping The Colour, we couldn’t help but cast our gaze to Prince Harry and his new bride, Meghan Markle, with this year’s Trooping marking the first time now-royal Meghan stood upon Buckingham Palace’s famed balcony.
And while the newly minted Duchess of Sussex looked poised to perfection as always, close-up footage of Meghan and Harry atop that balcony have highlighted the daunting nature of adhering to strict royal protocol – and how this couple take it in their stride as a team.
Ever so discreetly, Meghan, 36, can be seen asking Harry, 33, if she should curtsy when the Queen arrived.
Duchess Catherine showing Meghan the ropes!
Apparently Meghan was ‘nervous’ for her first Trooping event – we would be too!
If you look closely, Meghan says to Harry: “Do it?” To which he replies “Yes”, before bowing his head to his much-loved granny.
So, that’s exactly what Meghan did – she, along with the rest of the royal family, curtsied as a token of respect to Queen Elizabeth II (protocol asserts that all royals curtsy in front of the Queen when they see her for the first time on any given day).
Not only that, but as reported by The Daily Mail and The Mirror‘s lip reader, always-caring Harry also appears to ask his Duchess: “Are you OK?” She said “yes” despite apparently admitting she was ‘nervous’ ahead of standing on the Buckingham balcony for the very first time.
To be honest, though, despite Meghan’s apparent nerves, the actress-turned-royal appeared cool, calm and collected as she stood behind her sister-in-law, Duchess Catherine. Speaking of which, we did wonder why Meghan was standing behind Catherine and not beside her.
Meghan and Harry, tucked behind Prince Charles, Duchess Catherine and Prince William.
The answer? As previously reported by Now To Love, Meghan stood behind Catherine and Prince William – and as you’d expect, it’s because there is a “royal pecking order”.
Joe Little, from Majesty magazine explained, “She was not as prominent perhaps as some people might have expected, but there’s a pecking order.”
“There was no slight intended, but William being the older, more senior brother would go out [first] with his wife.”
Makes sense!
