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The Duchess of Sussex was out to attend the opening of a Pacific art exhibition entitled Oceania at the Royal Academy of Art in London’s Piccadilly.
The exhibition features some 200 artefacts from Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia.
As always, the Duchess was immaculately turned out, choosing a sleek black Givenchy dress and black heels.
But what really got everyone talking was a perceived breach of royal protocol.
When Meghan arrived at the event, her first without another member of the Royal Family, her car door was opened for her.
She stepped out, and then after shaking hands with her host, casually closed the door behind her.
What seems a small gesture to most of us, in royal terms shutting your own door is said to be a very unusual occurrence.
Social media lit up with those who wanted to have their say on the matter, and opinions were mixed and often humorous.
One Twitter user wrote: “Because I was so inspired by Meghan Markle, as I left the house this morning I shut my own front door.”
Another tweeted: “A princess who still takes the time to shut her car door. Well done Meghan!”
And a critic of the Duchess of Sussex’s staff wrote: “The person who opened the door should have held it till she got out, and then close it. He opened it and walked away?”
While many praised the “humble” Duchess for taking the initiative and not expecting things to be done for her, the experts have said it’s not actually a breach of protocol – at least not on behalf of the Duchess.
Etiquette expert William Hanson tweeted: “This is not a protocol breach.
“Usually royalty and dignitaries have someone to open/close car doors for security reasons: nothing to do with ‘princess behaviour’.
“Meghan clearly just shut the door out of force of habit.”
Others were quick to point out that Meghan has only been a royal for four months – she’s likely to still be in the habit of shutting her own doors.
Whether her security is quicker to shut the door for her after this remains to be seen.
But there are some things Meghan is no longer allowed to do now that she’s married to Prince Harry.
She can no longer take selfies.
When Meghan and Harry first stepped out in public after their engagement, Meghan had to gently turn down a selfie request from a fan.
“We’re not allowed to do selfies,” she said. The reason for this is said to be to prevent the public from turning their back on the royals.
She is also expected to refrain from voting, as a member of the politically-neutral Royal Family.
Meghan has also had to delete all her social media accounts and her lifestyle blog, and won’t be able to venture out in public alone anymore.
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