There are a lot of rules when it comes to being a royal.
You can’t play Monopoly, bright nail polish is out of the question, and shellfish should be avoided at dinner time.
We can only imagine how confusing it must be for Meghan Markle, who isn’t even a month into her brand new job as the Duchess of Sussex. But joining the Queen on their first solo royal outing together, the newly minted royal passed with flying colours.
There was only one little mishap in which the 36-year-old was confused as to the royal protocol for who should get in the car first.
For a brief moment, cameras captured the former Suits actress looking around slightly flustered before asking staff, and then speaking to the Queen directly. From footage captured by LBC, the Queen then ushers Meghan into the car before her. It was all very adorable.
We were under the impression that the monarchs generally walk in order of royal seniority, with the Queen leading at all times. But speaking to Elle, ettiquette coach William Hanson says that isn’t necessarily the case with vehicles.
“The Queen always sits behind the driver,” he said.
“This is just a case of habit not protocol (which actually says the most important person sits diagonally behind the driver) but the Queen has always preferred being directly behind whoever is driving her. Meghan was probably not aware of this and the royal household may have forgotten to brief the Duchess of Sussex in this nuance.”
As the pair undertook royal tasks like opening the Mersey Gateway Bridge and visiting the Storyhouse theatre and library in the UK town of Chester, Meghan was seen wearing a pair of earrings that Buckingham Palace confirmed were a gift from the Queen - although we don't know whether these were given to the Duchess to commemorate their first royal outing together.
It is however, just a bit cute that they kind of matched the pearl drop numbers worn by Queen Liz herself.
The rest of Meghan's outfit details include a fitted haute-couture dress and belt made by Givenchy (the designer that also made her wedding dress), pointed court heels, with a natural makeup look and polished loose curls finishing her elegant look.