The game of 8 differences: everything that separates Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton
It would seem that the only thing Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton have in common is that they both fell in love with British crown princes. Sisters-in-law have become highly influential women in the royal family under the leadership of another woman, Queen Elizabeth of England. But in recent times the duchesses are in the news for their supposed bad relationship that would have generated tension and a distance between the brothers William and Harry. Today, they talk more about them than about their respective husbands.
Meghan, a Californian who fulfilled her dream of being an actress while Kate was already rubbing shoulders with royalty without being part of it. One of her met her husband on a blind date and the other at an elite university. It took Kate ten years to marry William while Meghan got it in a year and a half.
Before becoming the Duchess of Sussex and wife of Prince Harry, 37-year-old Meghan Markle was an actress known for her starring role on the series Suits. Because of her television work, which she gave up in order to marry Lady Di's youngest son, she got used to being the center of attention. However, her royal status led to her being in the public eye in another dimension. Shortly after she passed the altar, the British tabloids stopped venerating her. Today she is the target of criticism for her demands and some attitudes that are associated more with a Hollywood diva than a member of royalty.
That pressure is further intensified now that she is a mother. Meghan and Prince Harry welcomed her son Archie Harrison on May 6, and have already made bold decisions based on her desire to protect her baby's privacy. Instead of the fanfare surrounding the baptisms of William and Kate Middleton's three children, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex opted for a private, press-free ceremony in Queen II's Chapel at Windsor Castle. .
Seasoned Kate Middleton, on the other hand, avoids "bad" press whenever possible. She studied the game and handles it perfectly. How does she do it? She complies with the rules. She is in the limelight only for real engagements.
In compliance with the protocol there is a large gap between them. Kate Middleton is much more appropriate and reserved. She adheres to the royal regulations and codes, without hesitation. Meghan Markle, on the other hand, seeks to impose her own guidelines as a public figure although the path that has just begun is more difficult.
Middleton, like Markle, was a commoner before her marriage. But unlike the American, her life before hers did not include cameras. However, it seems that both coincide in having their own place in royalty and escaping the shadow of their husbands.
The biggest and most notable difference between the two is the way they handle the press, or any kind of attention. This has to do with a difference in their personalities, as well as their origins before they became royals.
1-Two commoners of different social origin
Rachel Meghan Markle was born in Los Angeles on August 4, 1981. Her mother Doria is a social worker and yoga instructor, while her father Thomas is a retired lighting director and award-winning for his work on television shows such as Married… with Children and General Hospital. She grew up in a middle-class, Democratic family and was raised by her single mother after her parents divorced when she was six years old.
She attended private school and graduated from Northwestern University in 2003 with bachelor's degrees in theater and international studies. She then she moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and did an internship at the United States Embassy.
Meanwhile, Catherine Elizabeth Middleton was born in Reading, England, on January 9, 1982. Her father Michael, a former flight dispatcher, and her mother Carole, a former British Airways flight attendant, founded the successful Party Pieces company, a business of items for parties and events. They became millionaires in no time.
Before going to college, the Duchess decided to make the most of her sabbatical by traveling. She spent ten weeks in Chile on a charity expedition, working with other volunteers and in 2000 she spent three months in Florence, Italy, studying Italian and art history.
Despite having no title, Caroline and Michael Middleton had close ties to royalty. Kate went to the prestigious and elite St. Andrews University in Scotland. She there she studied art history and fell in love with William, second in line to the throne.
After graduating from college and before becoming the wife of Prince Charles of England's eldest son, Kate worked for the Jigsaw clothing line for a time and then in the family business in design and production.
2-Between discretion and scandal
Although they now live apart from each other, Kate has remained very close to her parents and her two brothers, Philippa - better known as Pippa - and James. Both James and Pippa have become UK personalities, yet they choose to portray themselves as ordinary people. They lead a discreet life. While the Middletons are low-key and honor their place in the crown, Meghan Markle's family is worthy of a soap opera.
Markle was raised by her mother Doria hers and remains very close to her, but unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the rest of her family. Both Samantha Markle and Thomas Markle Jr., the Duchess's half-siblings, have publicly disqualified her on many occasions. They even called her a "climber" and hinted that her sister was with Prince Harry out of interest.
Thomas Markle also embarrassed her in a series of interviews in which he criticized her royal family and her husband. But without a doubt, the photos she sold to the media that left him out of her daughter's wedding last May was her biggest public embarrassment. A fact that made Archie Harrison's mother desist, to this day, from having any kind of contact with him.
3-Love and a divorce
Always discreet, Kate does not have an extensive love curriculum but there are three men who marked her life before meeting the one who is her husband today. Willem Marx was her first love, whom she met during her teens, and Rupert Finch was her boyfriend in her first year at St. Andrews, just before meeting Lady Di's son. Henry Ropner entered the life of the Duchess during her brief separation from Prince William in 2007.
When Kate and William met, she was with Finch.
At first, Kate rejected William's love advances, since she had another relationship and saw him only as a friend, but the determined prince did not stop until he got a date with whom she would be his wife. Although they began their relationship in 2003, the first time William and Kate were seen together was not in 2004 during a trip to Switzerland.
She was never engaged or married before marrying Prince William in 2011. She is from a wealthy British family and was raised in a wealthy life. Queen Elizabeth II immediately approved of Kate as the future wife of her grandson, as she has always considered her a settled, sophisticated, and upper-class woman.
Meghan Markle didn't have it that easy. She was divorced and older than Harry. Her marriage to producer Trevor Engelson lasted until 2013 after a seven-year relationship. They were married on a beach in Jamaica with a celebration that lasted three days. Following her divorce, she dated celebrity chef Cory Vitiello until 2016, when the then-actress met Harry.
4-A fleeting romance and a long one with a crisis that almost ends the dream
Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding in 2011 was the culmination of a 10-year history of meeting and 8 of boyfriends (interrupted by a crisis of a few months). It started as a college friendship and turned into love. "When I met her, I knew right away that there was something very special about her," William confessed in the interview that the couple gave when they announced her engagement.
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry, on the other hand, were together much less time than Kate and Will before reaching the altar. The couple met on a blind date in 2016 and clicked instantly. Just a few weeks later, Harry convinced Meghan to accompany him on a trip to Botswana. A year and a half later, they announced their engagement and subsequently married in Windsor on May 19, 2018. A year later they became the parents of Archie, seventh in line to the British throne.
5-The very different places in the royal family
William is second in succession to the British throne, after his father, Prince Charles. It is probable that one day he will be king. As the future queen consort, Kate fulfills a much more important role than Markle in the crown and has many more responsibilities than her sister-in-law.
Now that her brother William has had three children, Harry is number six in line to inherit the throne. Once his nephews and his niece grow up and have children of their own, he's likely to move even further back in line.
This means that while Meghan Markle is officially a duchess and a member of the royal family, she doesn't have to worry about being the female face of the UK. Although she has some official tasks to fulfill for the crown with her husband, Meghan will never come to the throne and that is why, perhaps, she takes certain protocol permits that Kate cannot and should not.
6- Protocol vs rebellion
It is no secret that the royal family has an extensive list of rules and protocols that must be followed to represent the family properly. Kate Middleton is known for always following these rules, while her sister-in-law is famous for breaking them.
She is something of a model student when it comes to protocols and in the UK she is considered a perfect example of how a member of the crown should behave.
Meghan is far less conventional in her approach to all royal issues. She has a more casual style, less stuffy. In addition to having a questionable past in the eyes of the queen, and wearing much less traditional attire than Kate Middleton and the other royals, Harry's wife moves spontaneously and makes her mark.
The perfect example of this is when she closed her car door in public, something the royal family should not do. With that simple gesture, she earned praise and was described as a "humble" and "realistic" woman. However, in recent days she was questioned for going to Wimbledon and asking not to have pictures taken of her as she was there in a "private capacity". The over $ 3 million overhaul of her new home in Windsor with taxpayer money also sparked anger.
7- Fashion icons
Her dress style is also in stark contrast. Kate Middleton once again shows her more reserved nature of hers and often dresses in bright colors. She prefers traditional outfits, much like the queen's. She tends to deviate from fashion trends, opting for classic outfits, such as long coats, extravagant hats, and conservative dresses.
The Kate effect is the name given to the phenomenon in which almost all the clothes she wears in public are sold out within a few minutes. Although she usually wears well-known brands, the original designs are usually adjusted before the Duchess wears them. Despite having all kinds of designers available to her, Kate's wardrobe is usually quite small when it comes to accessories and she is the "queen of recycling" when it comes to fashion. She often puts a twist on her dresses and coats.
Meghan Markle, while primarily adhering to strict royal dress rules, seems to prefer darker clothing, especially black. Her outfits may be modest, but they are well thought out according to the latest trends.
Markle is often seen looking more in tune with current fashion. She tends to wear less traditional clothing, preferring simple dresses or suits.
She often opts for darker, more muted outfits, and while much less classic than the Duchess of Cambridge, she is still seen as a fashion icon. She is famous for wearing fancy and expensive clothes, but in a sense it is almost more casual.
8-The relationship with the press
Kate had almost no problems with the press, although she suffered from a major breach of privacy. While she was on vacation in 2012 with the prince in France, some paparazzi managed to take photos of the duchess topless and posted them on a re3ista. Kate was extremely upset about this, and even took the matter to court. Six years after the publication of her photos, the French justice determined that Closer magazine should compensate her for 100,000 euros.
Since Meghan Markle married Prince Harry, she has become the most admired and most criticized figure in the UK. Every step she takes is cause for questioning and rumors. Her marriage was an important message of inclusion in the British crown by accepting the link between the son of a future king and a commoner and mestizo woman.
For Meghan it has not been easy, since her image has been subjected to the merciless scrutiny of public opinion, so much that the crown had to explicitly ask that they stop harassing the former actress. Before her, when she was still dating Prince Harry, she was the victim of online stalking, prompting Harry to ask to be left alone.
