Joining the royal family came at quite the cost for Meghan Markle. There were dozens of rules she was suddenly being asked to follow.
But after two years of being stuck under the thumb of British tabloids, Meghan and Harry decided to take a “step back” from their royal duties, meaning they can live a much more normal life, free from royal protocols!
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I think we can all admit that for a shining moment when Meghan Markle married Prince Harry, we were all incredibly jealous.
She went from being a commoner to a famous TV actress, to literal royalty.
But things went awry rather quickly.
After being mercilessly bullied by the British press for two years, Meghan and Harry quietly planned to depart from their royal family roles.
They released a statement last week announcing that they will be taking a “step back” from their senior roles in the royal family.
Prince Harry finally broke his silence on the matter.
While speaking at the dinner for supporters of Sentebale in London, Harry addressed the fact that he and Meghan have stepped down from their royal duties.
“I want you to hear the truth from me. As much as I can share, not as a Prince or a Duke but as Harry.”
“The same person that many of you have watched grow up over the last 35 years but now with a clearer perspective,” he said.
“Once Meghan and I were married we were excited, we were hopeful, and we were here to serve.”
“For those reasons, it brings me great sadness that it has come to this.”
“It was so many months of talks after so many years of challenges. And I know I haven’t always gotten it right but as far as this goes, there really was no other option.”
“What I want to make clear is, we’re not walking away, and we certainly aren’t walking away from you. Our hope was to continue serving the queen, the commonwealth and my military associations but without public funding,” he continued.
Looking on the bright side of things, this move happens to be a great thing for Meghan, particularly.
She gets to stay married to the love of her life, flee from British publications, pursue her own career, and ditch royal protocols.
Here are all the things Meghan will likely start doing again!
1. Taking selfies.
At her very first royal engagement last December, Barbara Miller from OK! Magazine asked for a selfie, but Meghan declined, saying “We’re not allowed to do selfies.”
The Queen herself described selfies as “disconcerting.”
But once Meghan and Harry are officially free from their royal duties, they can take as many selfies as they want!
2. And naturally, if she can take selfies again, she can have social media again — and I cannot wait to follow her.
As you may already know, Meghan and Harry have a shared royal Instagram account that is strictly business. But pretty soon, she can go back to having her own profile if she chooses!
3. She can go back to having her own blog as well.
Since having to give up social media, she also had to say goodbye to her lifestyle blog, The Tig .
She wrote a heartwarming goodbye to her blog followers upon marrying Harry. “As I’ve told you time and time again: you, my sweet friend, you are enough,” adding “thank you for everything.”
But fortunately, soon, she will be welcome to start this up again.
4. Sign autographs.
Prior to becoming a royal, Meghan was free to sign autographs for fans who recognized her for her acting, and in no time, she can go right back to signing autographs, if she wants!
5. She can go back to acting.
By marrying Prince Harry, Meghan declared her resignation from the entertainment industry.
“I don’t see it as giving anything up; I just see it as a change,” she told CNN at the time.
But the good news is, she can go right back to following her dreams. In fact, she already landed a voiceover gig with Disney .
6. Choose her own outfits.
While Meghan’s style choice as a royal were still extremely fashionable, she was certainly urged to dress on the more conservative side.
But now, if she wants to wear dark colors or ripped jeans again, she can .
7. She can wear diamonds during the day.
This was a bizarre rule, but royals are preferred not to wear diamonds unless it is evening.
According to royal etiquette expert, Myka Meier, “before 6pm, you’ll see metallics, gemstones, pearls, sapphires. At night, you’ll see the diamonds come out, and that’s in order to not come across as flashy in your appearance.”
8. Choose her own hairstyles.
Meghan has sported a low messy bun on several occasions, and none of us really thought much of it. But apparently, since becoming a royal, it’s a big no-no.
According to Grant Harrold from The Royal Butler, she was asked to swap her messy bun for something a bit more tidy and elegant.
9. Wear dark nail polish.
While there was no cemented rule that dark nail polish is off-limits to members of the royal family, it was definitely frowned -upon. Meghan often wore it anyway, but pretty soon she will be able to do it guilt-free .
10. Show PDA.
Before officially becoming apart of the royal family, Meghan and Harry had been photographed plenty of times holding hands or hugging. But once they were married, they had to tone it down a few notches.
Royal etiquette expert Myka Meier told People that “technically, the couple are working representatives of the British Monarchy,” she said. “The couple are likely to show very little PDA, if any, to remain professional during their designated roles abroad.”
11. Eat messy food.
According to Her Majesty, The Queen has some very specific, and odd requests for what is allowed to be eaten in the palace. For starters, spaghetti with tomato sauce has been banned for being too messy.
I hope Meghan celebrates her royal exit by eating a big, sloppy bowl of pasta!
12. Stab food with a fork.
I can honestly say, I’ve never put much thought into how I use my eating utensils. I thought there was only one way to do it. But, apparently, the royal family takes dinner etiquette very seriously, and there is a right and wrong way to use a fork.
Thankfully, for Meghan, that won’t matter quite as much in the near future!
13. Vote.
This one is so important , all things considered…
Members of the monarch do not vote, as it is considered to be “unconstitutional.” However, assuming Meghan eventually returns to the United States, she could be able to vote once again in the upcoming election.
14. Choose her own religion.
According to CNN , Meghan made the huge compromise of being baptized and confirmed to the church of England before marrying Harry, even though she grew up Protestant.
Eventually, she won’t necessarily have to identify to any particular religion.
We’re so here for these new rules!
