Meghan Markle attended her first solo event as the Duchess of Sussex today, where she celebrated the opening of the Oceania exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts. Just four months after her royal wedding to Prince Harry, the engagement was proof of Markle’s swift transition to into the British royal family.
However, it seems the California-born former actress is still a regular person at heart—she closed her own car door while arriving at her solo debut.
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Video: #duchessofsussex arrives at the RA. A princess who still takes the time to shut her car door. Well done Meghan! pic.twitter.com/kJZXctr8AH
— Emily Andrews (@byEmilyAndrews) September 25, 2018
Video from the Duchess’ arrival, tweeted by royal correspondents, shows the Meghan stepping out of the car and shutting the door behind her while greeting one of her hosts. The gesture, albeit simple, was praised by some royal watchers on Twitter as a subtle sign that Meghan is still down-to-earth, despite her royal status.
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First time I've seen an on-duty princess shut her own car door… https://t.co/5Mg9TOi6lo
— Christopher Wilson (@TheWislon) September 25, 2018
I had to smile – Meghan is closing the door of that car herself – you know she´s still used to doing that…😉😊 https://t.co/YB9tGNdRlq
— Royal Eve (@_RoyalEve_) September 25, 2018
I don’t think #MeghanMarkle sees herself as better than anyone else. She knows that she and #PrineHarry are blessed to have found each other. I’m proud of her. Life is good.
— Marian Owens (@OwensMarian7) September 25, 2018
I really don't think it occurs to her that someone else is there to do that. It is something she's always done herself like the rest of us.
— Alisa Hilde🌻WEAR A MASK (@AlisaHilde) September 25, 2018
Some joked that Meghan’s royal protection officer (AKA bodyguard) would probably be in trouble with Prince Harry for slacking on door duty.
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https://twitter.com/RobbyMRG/status/1044654209403170816
Someone will be answering to Henry Charles for that. 😋😂
— – Amanda – (@adnama1985) September 25, 2018
Someone is gonna get FIRED bu Henry Wales
— Archie’s first tour🇿🇦👶🏼💃🏽 (@royalsussexduo) September 25, 2018
Cute how she closed the car door!
— LRR (@LRos123) September 25, 2018
https://twitter.com/RoyalSpectator/status/1044650013316575232
This wasn’t Meghan’s first time closing the door for herself. When she arrived to her event at Kensington Palace last week, someone opened the door for her, but she still shut it after stepping out of the car.
However, Meghan doesn’t close her own door at all of her public appearances. When she arrived to the WellChild Awards with Prince Harry earlier this month, someone was there to open and close the door for her.
Prince Harry + Duchess Meghan arrive at the @WellChild Awards https://t.co/cdCAUk9Arw #WellChildAwards pic.twitter.com/UNtMjAha23
— HELLO! Canada (@HelloCanada) September 4, 2018
The same thing happened when she arrived to the Wimbledon final with Kate Middleton in July.
It also happened when she got to Cliveden House with her mother, Doria Ragland, the night before her wedding.
Meghan Markle and her mother arrive at Cliveden House hotel the night before the #royalwedding https://t.co/ZJ9bfroPgH pic.twitter.com/10oJZJFzDq
— CNN (@CNN) May 18, 2018
She got some door help at one of her first royal engagements, during a visit to Brixton, too.
VIDEO: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive at @ReprezentRadio in Brixton pic.twitter.com/HihBlJtc9y
— Victoria Murphy (@byQueenVic) January 9, 2018
It looks like it all comes down to timing.
This article originally appeared on Harper’s BAZAAR US.
