Meghan Markle accidentally broke Royal protocol in front of the Queen

(Image credit: Rex)

Since officially becoming a Royal, there are so many rules that Meghan has to follow, from knowing who to curtsy to, to what not to eat when travelling, that it's hardly shocking that the Duchess accidentally breaks protocol once in a while (she's still taking princess lessons after all).

One such slip-up happened during Tuesday's Buckingham Palace party, when she sat down with the Queen and Prince Harry.

As any one of us might do, she immediately crossed her legs as she took her position on the chair. Unfortunately, this is a bit of a no no for Royal women, as according to Royal etiquette, it shows a lack of posture.

Instead, one should adopt the 'Duchess stance', where you cross your legs at the ankle, or keep your legs together and dip them to the side a little, thus maintaining the perfect poise.

As you can see in the below video captured by People's Simon Perry, Meghan quickly recovered, uncrossing her legs immediately.

A photo posted by on

This position is always adopted by Royal women, especially when they have to sit down for a long period of time and want to maintain composure.

Royal etiquette expert Myka Meier told the publication, 'It is the perfect pose for when a camera is shooting directly in front of you because by slightly slanting the knees to create a zig-zag effect when wearing a dress or skirt, your legs are angled so that the camera only shoots the sides of your legs and protects your modesty.'

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Contributing Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK. She writes about catwalk trends and the latest high street and Instagram sartorial must-haves. She also helms the Women Who Win franchise.

She has worked in fashion for over 10 years, contributing to publications such as Cosmopolitan, Red, Good Housekeeping, and Stylist.