Meghan Markle just beat the Queen to win the title of "world's most influential royal"

Who'd have thought it?

In Royal news today, new research has revealed that the most influential Royal is, in fact, not the Queen.

A study by Design Bundles - an online design site - saw Meghan Markle in first place ahead of Her Majesty.

The research took into account their digital presence, including Instagram hashtags, Google search, and more.

The Queen has come in second, and Meghan has bagged the title of "the world's most influential royal", despite stepping down as an official Royal family member last year.

The Duchess of Sussex now lives in the US with Prince Harry and their children, Archie and Lilibet.

The data is based largely on Google search. Last year, Meghan's name was Googled - on average - 7.4 million times each month. She's also been hashtagged 10.4 million times on Instagram alongside being mentioned in 11,200 articles, as per The Express.

Design Bundles said: "Now, the Duchess of Sussex is likely the most talked-about and influential woman in the entire world, as well as in the Royal Family."

"Meghan, along with husband Prince Harry, has always rejected the royal tradition to bury one’s private opinions and present a united, idealised front to the world."

"Meghan’s bravery and boldness in speaking up about issues such as racism, parental leave and empowering women are unlike any other royal, and her voice is a powerful and enduring one."

"The Duchess of Sussex is deeply committed to alleviating world issues through her charity work, and despite no longer being a working royal, proves that her influence is positive and unchanging."

For reference, The Queen has triple the number of Instagram hashtags, Google searches, and media mentions than the average of the other Royal family members.

"The Queen is a global style icon herself, creating a popular trend with her habit of wearing exquisitely colour blocked clothes, in bright, stand-out colours, so one can always locate her in a crowd," added the spokesperson.

Wondering who came third? Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, ranked as the third most popular Royal. Her digital mentions ranked third, despite her having the most amount of Instagram hashtags to her name in total.

Who'd have thought it?