Members of the royal family appeared on Sunday at the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph, also known as Remembrance Day.
While at the commemorative event honouring those who have lost their lives in military service, some noted that Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, didn’t stand with Queen Elizabeth; Kate, Duchess of Cambridge; and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Instead, Meghan stood with the Queen’s daughter-in-law, Sophie, Countess of Wessex, as well as Sir Timothy Laurence, Princess Anne's husband.
Was this royal shade? A sign of more family drama? Turns out no. The Duchess of Sussex watched the solemn ceremony from a separate balcony due to the royal “pecking order.”
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This pecking order, or the order of precedence, is the hierarchy that exists within the royal family and determines where members of the family stand during official events. Up first in the current order of precedence is the sovereign, the Queen, followed by the spouse of the sovereign, Prince Philip, according to Town & Country. Next is the eldest son of the sovereign, Prince Charles, followed by his spouse, Camilla. Then it’s Prince William and Kate, who rank higher than younger brother Prince Harry and Meghan.
William and Harry joined Prince Andrew in laying wreaths of poppies during the ceremony, so their wives took their respective places on the balcony.
Another example of the pecking order in effect was back in June at Trooping the Colour. Meghan and Harry didn’t come out first and weren’t front and centre on the balcony. Instead William and Kate — along with the Queen, Prince Phillip, Prince Charles, and Camilla — were.
“There was no slight intended, but William being the older, more senior brother would go out [first] with his wife,” Joe Little, managing editor of Majesty magazine, told People.
So, Meghan’s placement has nothing to do with bad blood and everything to do with royal rules. Besides, only so many people can fit comfortably on one balcony together.
The night before Prince Harry and Meghan attended the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance, a special event which pays tribute to those who sacrificed their lives for the country.