At an event in February Meghan Markle mimicked Kate Middleton's signature pose. Photo / Getty Images
At an event in February Meghan Markle mimicked Kate Middleton's signature pose. Photo / Getty Images
It was the photo that caught the eye of royal watchers around the world.
In February, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry joined the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, William and Kate, for one of their first joint charity events.
Sitting on the stage the two couples laughed and joked asthey hosted the first annual Royal Foundation Forum, but there was one detail commentators quickly caught onto.
Seated next to Kate, Meghan mimicked her signature sitting pose, known as the "Duchess Slant".
At an event in February Meghan Markle mimicked Kate Middleton's signature pose. Photo / Getty Images
The term was coined by Beaumont Etiquette and is named after the Duchess of Cambridge, PEOPLE reports.
Since then, Meghan's behaviour has sparked growing speculation about how much of it is an act.
While her calm demeanour at her wedding to Prince Harry was applauded, Meghan's past career as an actor could come back to haunt her.
Like other royal brides the backlash is inevitable. Princess Diana was criticised for being naive and emotional, while Sarah, Duchess of York, better known as "Fergie", was blasted for being too boisterous.
Even Kate faced negative press, with claims she came from a social climbing family and her mother had purposefully enrolled her in the same university as William, the Daily Mail reported in 2013.
In her engagement interview last year, Meghan said she knew little about Prince Harry and the royal family.
However friends of the actor have claimed Meghan worshipped Diana, telling royal biographer Andrew Morton she watched tapes of the princess on repeat after her death.
Meghan is said to have watched tapes of the princess on repeat. Photos / Getty Images
"According to family friends, she was intrigued by Diana, not just for her style, but for her independent humanitarian mission, seeing her as a role model," Morton writes in his biography Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, The Sun reports.
Meghan has also copped criticism over reports she dropped family and long-time friends in favour of more socially mobile connections.
Her side of the church on Saturday featured only one family member — her mother Doria Ragland — alongside celebrities, acting agents and well-connected public relations workers.
Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle leave after their wedding ceremony, at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle in Windsor, near London, England. Photo / AP
Morton's biography also claims she was ruthless when it came to her social circle and ended her first marriage to Trevor Engelson abruptly by sending her wedding rings back in the mail.
The decision to downplay her acting career (it is barely mentioned in her official royal bio online), comes despite Meghan's poise at events being credited to her thespian background.
As Meghan continues to grow into her new royal role after her wedding day, a fall from her pedestal is inevitable.
Fortunately for the actor turned Duchess of Sussex, the way she has handled other setbacks — such as her bickering family — is likely to see her survive any drop in popularity with grace.
