Every time Meghan Markle has ‘broken’ protocol as she becomes first Royal voter- from closing doors to dark nail polish
MEGHAN Markle took on the role of a lifetime when she became the Duchess of Sussex.
In May 2018, the former Suits actress married Prince Harry and found herself plunged into the confusing world of royal protocol.
Where the Duchess would previously never have to think twice about the colour of her nails or if she was wearing tights, her every move was watched by fans all over the world when she became fully-fledged royal.
This week, Meghan - who is now living in California - is expected to make history as the first ever member of the Royal Family to exercise her right to vote.
Here Fabulous Digital takes a look back at all the times Meghan broke royal protocol - from closing her own car door to her vampy nails.
Ditched the Denier
When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement in November 2017, the couple appeared before the world's press at Kensington Palace.
She said: "I would say that's really the only hard, steadfast rule in terms of what the Queen requires."
In May 2018, Meghan wore pair of pale nude tights to the Prince of Wales' 70th birthday bash at Buckingham Palace in her first post-wedding public engagement.
Then in November, she wore a pair of shiny tights to the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall - but many onlookers were similarly unimpressed by their "glare".
Gushing wedding toast
Millions of royal fans tuned in to watch Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's fairytale Windsor wedding in 2018.
But that evening, the couple enjoyed a private reception with 250 guests in the grounds of Windsor Castle.
And while royal brides don't generally make a speech on their big day, the biography Finding Freedom claims the Duchess broke this tradition too.
Royal experts Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand claim Meghan said finding love was "worth the wait" and called Prince Harry "the one".
In the speech, the US actress reportedly singled out Prince Charles - just hours after her new father-in-law walked her down the aisle.
Shut her OWN car door
In September 2018, Meghan effectively broke the internet when she shut her OWN car door while arriving at her first solo royal engagement in London.
When she arrived at the Oceania exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts, the Duchess slammed the car door shut behind her - which Royals usually never do as there's typically someone waiting to close it for them.
Many Twitter users praised Meghan for being "down to earth", with one revealing they'd never seen a member of the royal family shut their own car door before.
"I don't think I've ever seen a member of the Royal Family do that before. Wow," they tweeted.
But this didn't stop the Duchess from wearing dark nail polish when she made a surprise appearance at the Fashion Awards in 2018.
The then mum-to-be offset her vampy nails with a black velvet sleeveless dress and gold bangles.
On the rare occasion that Kate Middleton's nails do have a slick of polish on them, she opts for a nude shade which is similar to the Queen’s favourite Essie shade Ballet Slippers.
According to the brand's website, Queen Elizabeth's hairdresser wrote to the brand's owner, nail polish-mogul Essie Weingarten, asking for a bottle of the light pink polish as she didn't want to wear any other.
That said, Meghan did adhere to royal protocol when she wore a similar shade for baby Archie's first photocall.
New York baby shower
Royal expert Victoria Arbiter claimed throwing an elaborate baby shower was previously unheard of for members of The Firm.
While the royals are "very wealthy", the expert said: "A lavish baby shower would be seen as highly inappropriate [because] there's nothing they can't go out and buy themselves."
Despite this, Meghan jetted to New York to celebrate with pals - including Serena Williams, Jessica Mulroney and Abigail Spencer - in February 2019.
What's more, the Queen's former aide branded the baby shower "over the top" and "very much an American thing".
The baby shower reportedly cost £330,000, with the mum-to-be given lavish gifts for Archie, including a £290 crib.
Pregnant Meghan was also said to have taken a £95,000 private jet to her star-studded bash, which took place at the prestigious The Mark Hotel.
Archie's birth
While Prince William and Kate Middleton introduced their three children to the world just hours after they were born, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry took a drastically different approach.
The Duchess of Cambridge followed in Princess Diana and Princess Anne's footsteps when she gave birth at the Lindo Wing in London.
The Princess Royal had her first child Peter Phillips there in 1977, followed by daughter Zara in 1981.
Diana chose it for the births of William in 1982 and Harry in 1984 and Kate followed in 2013, 2015 and 2018 with George, Charlotte and Louis.
In the weeks leading up to Archie's birth, a Palace spokesperson said: "Their Royal Highnesses have taken a personal decision to keep the plans around the arrival of their baby private.
"The Duke and Duchess look forward to sharing the exciting news with everyone once they have had an opportunity to celebrate privately as a new family."
However, Archie's birth certificate confirmed that the royal tot had been born at the Portland Hospital at 5:26am on 6 May 2018.
In his new book Battle of Brothers, royal expert Robert Lacey wrote: "Harry and Meghan were resolute that their newborn baby's first sight of the world should not be the same insane and lethal camera-flashing that had attended — had actually brought about — the death of Diana."
Instead, the couple introduced Archie to the world two days after his birth at photocall in Windsor.
'Blinged up' engagement ring
When Prince Harry popped the question in 2017, he did so with a ring he'd designed himself.
The Duchess of Sussex's stunning sparkler even features two of the late Princess Diana's diamonds - but at the Trooping the Colour less than two years later, it's had undergone a dramatic transformation.
The envy-inducing ring originally had a thick gold band which beautifully offset the row of three diamonds.
However, the Duchess reset her ring with a much thinner, diamond-studded micro-pave gold band.
Speaking to Fabulous Digital, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, Ingrid Seward, explained she "found it odd" that the Duchess of Sussex would change her engagement ring.
"I find it a bit odd Meghan would want to alter a ring that her husband had especially designed for her," she said.
"A royal engagement ring is a piece of history not a bit of jewellery to be updated when it looks old fashioned."
Archie's private christening and anonymous godparents
After keeping the details of his birth private, it's hardly surprising Meghan and Harry took an unconventional approach with Archie's christening too.
Determined to make their son a "private citizen", the couple planned a media-free baptism in Windsor with just 25 guests.
And unlike Kate and William, the couple have never revealed the identities of Archie's godparents.
Despite breaking protocol with the private ceremony, Meghan did conform to tradition by dressing Archie in a gown that is a replica of the one Queen Victoria commissioned in 1841.
Bombshell ITV interview
Last October, Meghan Markle "broke protocol" again when she gave an emotional interview with her royal tour of Africa.
In the documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, the Duchess opened up about the struggles she's encountered since becoming a Royal and admitted she wants to "thrive" in her royal role instead of merely "surviving".
Meghan admitted: "I've said for a long time to H - that's what I call him - it is not enough to just survive something, right? That's not the point of life. You've got to thrive.
"You've got to feel happy and I think I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip. I tried, I really tried."
First royal voter
Now that she's stepped down as a senior member of the Royal Family, Meghan Markle is free to vote in the upcoming US election.
Although members of the Royal Family are technically able to vote, they are expected to be above politics and as such voluntarily refrain from casting votes.
In September, Meghan called presidential election “the most important of our life” filmed in the garden of their £11m Montecito home.
"Every four years we are told the same thing, that this is the most important election of our lifetime," the Duchess said. "But this one is. When we vote, our values are put into action and our voices are heard. Your voice is a reminder that you matter, because you do and you deserve to be heard."
Meanwhile, Harry urged voters to “reject hate speech, misinformation and online negativity” which social media users saw as an attack on Donald Trump.
The Sussexes pledged to “uphold the values of Her Majesty” in their Megxit deal - which includes remaining politically neutral.
A royal aide told The Sunday Times: "The family are all wringing their hands, thinking, ‘Where is this going?’ The feeling is it’s a violation.”
In more Royal Family news, Meghan Markle & Prince Harry angered William by ‘deliberately misleading’ public about Archie’s birth, an expert has claimed.
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And Prince Charles shared his sadness at ‘not seeing Archie for more than a YEAR’ after Prince Harry & Meghan Markle left UK.
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