The Duchess of Sussex, who has a history of speaking out about women’s empowerment, was not happy about “old-fashioned rules and regulations – like wearing dresses below the knee,” an anonymous source told a publication called The News. Another anonymous source added the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are raising their young son Archie “in their footsteps”.
This will mean he will not “follow royal protocol, especially the sexist traditions”.
It was not stated whether the sources had any links to the Royal Family.
In any case, the issue of sexism within the Royal Family has been discussed before.
In 2013, Parliament passed the Succession to the Crown Act, which meant female royals would no longer be pushed out of place in the line to the throne by younger male siblings.
The Queen became the first female royal to join the British military full-time during World War II, when she was 19 years of age.
Earlier this year, Meghan Markle joined in the virtual Girl Up leadership summit, in which she gave a speech directed at young women around the world.
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She urged them to ‘keep challenging, keep pushing’ towards more representation.
Meghan said: “Women have always historically gotten a lot of ‘that’s not how it’s done,’ ‘yeah, that’s a good idea but we’re going to do this instead.’
“But when do we hear that as women? We hear that in the moments that we challenge the norms.
Meanwhile, a source claimed to The Week that Meghan was also opposed to a “PDA ban” within the Royal Family.
This might refer to romantic gestures such as holding hands during royal engagements – something Meghan and Harry were often seen doing.
Royal etiquette analyst Myka Meier has previously said doing so is “atypical”, but added there is no specific protocol that bans royals from showing affection to one another.
On the contrary, the gesture makes Harry and Meghan “relatable and lovable to the public,” she told People magazine.
The etiquette expert added such small public displays of affection are “simply a matter of preference” for each royal couple.
For example, observers note Prince William and Kate Middleton and less often seen holding hands than the Sussexes.
Harry and Meghan currently live in Santa Barbara, California, with their one-year-old son Archie.
