The Late Princess Diana will always be ‘The People’s Princess. She was accessible, humble and open. And she left a void in the hearts of many around the world. But two contenders for the honor are coming into view. First up is Prince William’s wife, Kate Middleton or the Duchess of Cambridge. The first lady to even come close to Diana’s legacy in her humbleness. But the Royal family is expanding at a rapid rate with the addition of a new Princess, on the arm of bachelor Prince Harry and she is American born actress, Meghan Markle. It’s an exciting time in the British monarchy, and while no one will say it out loud the ladies are both vying for the position as ‘The People’s Princess.’ Kate and Meghan will be compared to no end to the mother-in-law they will never get to meet, the late Princess Diana, who was adored worldwide.
So far it’s looking like a tie between, Kate and Meghan, both come off humble, sweet and down to earth, but let’s be honest here, both ladies want the top spot. And while Kate is already a Princess and in line for the throne (William will one day be King, Meghan will be able to get all the accolades without the trouble. Who will win the top spot? The newbie with an American accent, A Hollywood past and an ex-husband or the longtime love of Prince William, who is not only his college sweetheart but our fashion goals.
20 Kate Middleton: She's Prince William’s College Sweetheart
Kate and Prince William were college sweethearts. The power couple knew each other for a decade before walking down the aisle in their huge, highly publicized and televised wedding. The duo met at while attending college at the University of St Andrews in 2001 and later began secretly dating around 2003. So, Kate has technically been riding with William since he still had a full head of gorgeous blond hair. But things weren’t always so great for the couple. They split in 2007 for a very short time (about three months) before William realized he missed his lady love and asked her for a second chance. They have been together ever since in their kingdom, sounds just like a Disney fairytale ending. Kate and William are even on their third pregnancy. The baby due in the Spring of 2018.
19 Meghan Markle: She Ditched Hollywood For Love
Meghan Markle has taken her name out of the running. She will no longer be a viable option for that big movie role everyone in Hollywood wants. Meghan said goodbye to acting after saying yes to her engagement to Harry. Markle, who starred in the courtroom drama Suits, is leaving Hollywood behind for love. "I don't see it as giving anything up. I just see it as a change," Meghan said in an interview with the BBC. "It's a new chapter, right? And also, keep in mind, I've been working on Suits for seven years. We were very, very fortunate to have that sort of longevity on a series…I've ticked this box, and I feel very proud of the work I've done there, and now it's time to work with Harry as a team." Megan will move on to humanitarian work.
18 Kate Middleton: She Loves A Bargain Buy
Kate has been known to be very demure in her fashion choices---she could very well be the Queen one day!! But Kate doesn’t seem to take her fashion too seriously. The Princess has access to all the top designers around the world, but you can still catch her wearing her affordable finds. Kate can go from wearing an expensive $1000 Temperley London dress to a $56 Topshop frock that she not only wore to the wedding of family friend and Prince George's godfather William Van Cutsem, but she later donned the same dress to an event at the Harry Potter studios with husband, William, and brother-in-law, Harry. The People’s Princess would know a great bargain when she sees one. Kate loves to shop at Zara too! And remember those blues wedges she loved and wore everywhere?!
17 Meghan Markle: She Had A Lifestyle Website
Before Harry came along Meghan was making a name for herself on the internet via a celebrity lifestyle website. The actress talked about the basics---travel, fashion, beauty and food. But she shuttered the figurative doors to her website in April 2017 months after she began dating Harry. But the site was always a bit more family friendly, she should have kept and made it into a forum for her new humanitarian and charitable efforts. Meghan always kept her content light and simple. She would write about party planning (for her best friend’s bachelorette party in Greece), eating dinner alone, reading a classic book, a good playlist or vaca spot. But she still decided to shut down the site. The site would have probably exploded in traffic where fans would have hung to her every word, but Meghan has moved on to her new chapter.
16 Kate Middleton: She’s No Royal, But She’s Regal
Kate does not come from Royal pedigree like her husband, William. In fact, she comes from a working-class family. Her parents own a popular party supply company, Party Pieces. Kate’s mom started the company when she couldn’t find the perfect party gift bags for her children’s birthday parties.The family started their company as a small startup in the 80’s and within two decades they were able to dub themselves " UK's leading online and catalog party company." The family’s business even enjoyed a rise in orders after Kate and William announced their engagement in 2010. And Kate a family gal worked in the family business before marrying Prince William. Not only did she model for the catalog, but she created party collections, and did marketing and photography for the catalog. Kate’s siblings Pippa and James also worked in the family business. Nothing more humbling and honorable that working with family. Kate is regal by nature.
15 Meghan Markle: She Adopted A Shelter Dog After Ellen Told Her To
Meghan loves animals just as much as the rest of us, she even adopted her dog, Bogart after Ellen Degeneres saw her at a shelter and convinced her she should adopt. And she listened. Meghan retold the story to Best Health, “Now, I don’t know her, but Ellen goes ‘Is that your dog?’ And I said, ‘No,’ and she’s like, ‘You have to take that dog.’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m deciding.’ And she’s like, ‘Rescue the dog!’ It’s sort of like if Oprah tells you to do something. I’m sitting there holding him and she’s like ‘Have you thought of a name for him yet?’ And I said, ‘Well, I think I’d name him Bogart,’ and she’s like ‘You’re taking the dog home.’”
Sadly Meghan decided not to relocate her dog, Bogart, due to his age, but her other rescue pup, Guy already made the move to the UK. Bo is staying with friends permanently.
14 Kate Middleton: She’s A Former Athlete
Kate Middleton has a great bod, partly due to genetics, but Kate also loves sports. While in school, she not only ran cross country track, but she was an avid swimmer, played tennis and field hockey along with her love of rowing. Before she became a princess she even trained with the Sisterhood cross-Channel rowing team, so now we know where she gets her super athletic body. She never stops moving! Kate had to quit the rowing team due to paparazzi issues and recently said she was sporty until she had kids. While at an event for Wimbledon Junior Tennis Initiative, Kate told the children, "I love tennis, I think it's a great sport, I was really sporty when I was little, less so now that I've got lots of babies."
But I wouldn’t be surprised if she hits the gym daily. Kate also loves to ski and watch her hubby play Polo.
13 Meghan Markle: She Wore A Messy Bun And The Internet Freaked
Meghan just broke a huge Royal protocol. She wore her hair in a messy low bun---gasp! It’s no biggie for us, but as an impending Royal she should be coiffed at all times just like her future sister-in-law, Kate, but this down to earth hairstyle said otherwise. If she was going to do a bun, it would have to be a bit more formal and put together like a chignon. Her messy bun, with the flyaways, said she was approachable and relatable, just like us. Except she isn’t since she’s marrying a prince. Meghan also wore a sheer dress for her engagement photos and no stocking for her engagement photocall. Maybe the Queen isn’t as strict as she used to be or maybe Harry probably won't be the King of England taking the edge off of Meghan.
12 Kate Middleton: She Had Crazy Morning Sickness And Still Made Appearances
Kate is a boss. She suffered from a severe case of morning sickness or Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG), while pregnant with her first two children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte and it returned for her third pregnancy. With the condition HG, you can suffer extreme nausea, weight loss, and possibly dehydration and can feel faint.
While no one knew the Princess was expecting another baby (she’s was still early in her pregnancy) she was still making appearances despite having bad morning sickness issues in the past. When she could no longer handle it she made a statement explaining her circumstances. But after a short month and a half, Kate was back on the grind attending events and making appearances with her husband. The first event was World Mental Health Day at Buckingham Palace.
11 Meghan Markle: She May Invite Harry’s Ex To The Wedding
Harry and Meghan are so in love that she isn’t worried about his former flames especially, Chelsy Davy who Harry has remained friends with. There is even a report that Chelsy could be invited to the Royal wedding. But not ex-girlfriend, Cressida Bonas. After a bad split with Harry, the two are no longer friends. “Both will be going through the list carefully. Don’t expect to see Cressida invited —the two didn’t remain friends— but do not be surprised if Chelsy shows up with a date. The two have remained friends long after ending their relationship and still keep in touch to this day,” a source told Us recently. “She congratulated him the minute the engagement news was announced. Meghan would have no problem with her being there and Chelsy was on the preliminary list of friends to invite.”
10 Kate Middleton: The Royal Kids Are Utterly Adorable
Kate and William are raising super adorable kids. Firstborn son, Prince George, born in 2013, is a splitting image of his father William. And Kate dresses him just like his daddy did at his age. The little boy oozed cuteness on his first day of school when his father William took him to school after mom Kate couldn’t make it dues to her morning sickness. Then comes equally adorable Princess Charlotte, born in 2015, who stops traffic in her frilly baby girl dresses. We think that George and Charlotte are great indicators for the cuteness level of baby number 3. That kid will be drop dead gorgeous. Do you think Kate is having a boy or a girl? Maybe it’ll be another girl just like her own family or will there be two boys like William and Harry?
9 Meghan Markle: She’s Loved The Royals Since She Was A Kid
Meghan loved the Royals so much while growing up that she visited the UK as a teen with her friend, Ninaki Priddy on a family trip in 1996. Meghan and company visited London’s Buckingham Palace, of course. The girls took photos in front of Meghan’s future home without knowing it. They also went to Switzerland on the trip, where were tried on Diamond rings and popped into Paris on the adventure and took a photo in front of the Louvre. The ladies took silly pictures along the way which were obtained by The DailyMail.
Was it in the stars for Meghan all along? Meghan and Ninaki are no longer friends, but the images of Meghan in London are sweet. Was the trip a foreshadowing of her future life?
8 Kate Middleton: She’s Close To Her Sis Pippa
Pippa Middleton, Kate’s younger sister made waves as Kate’s Maid of Honor in her 2011 wedding. Everyone’s main focal point was Pippa’s ‘perfect’ booty as she walked down the aisle behind her sis. The sister’s relationship has remained close and intact despite Kate’s new duties as a Royal, Pippa stated while chatting with the Today Show in 2014. "I mean, obviously she has pressures that she's taken on and things. But we spend a lot of time together. We still do a lot together as a family. And I think that's really the heart for all of us is having a really close family that we can sort of be normal with each other, treat each other normally. And that's sort of kept us all, you know, affixed to the ground."
Sadly Kate did not get to be Pippa’s Maid of Honor at her wedding last year and it was all out of love. She wanted Pippa to have her own special day and Kate would have drawn too much attention from little sis, Pippal. But Kate was by Pippa’s side when she launched her own party planning book, Celebrate: A Year of Festivities for Families and Friends.
7 Meghan Markle: Prince Harry Thinks She And Princess Diana Would Have Been Besties
In their first official interview together, Harry gushed over his new fiance and claimed that his mother would have loved Meghan. Cue the ahhhhhs. During the interview, their first since the engagement announcement, Harry couldn't help but praise his lady love, even going as far as saying that if his mother Diana was still alive she would have been besties with Meghan. "I think she would just be over the moon, jumping up and down, so excited for me, but then would've also probably been best friends with Meghan." Harry even included some of his mother’s diamonds for Meghan’s engagement ring so she could be there with them. How sweet. Prince William also gifted his wife Kate with Diamonds from his mother’s collection ---her engagement ring from Prince Charles to be exact!
6 Kate Middleton: She’s Down To Earth
Kate is soft-spoken and fun and kids tend to flock to her making her approachable. But it's her charity work that really matters. The Princess charity efforts usually include issues with children, the arts, and sports and more recently she has added Mental Health and addiction causes. Just this week Kate stopped by the Green Junior School in London to launch the new website, Heads Together Mentally Healthy Schools. "I see time and time again that there is so much to be gained from talking about mental health and taking the mental health of our children as seriously as we do their physical health. When we intervene early in life, we help avoid problems that are much more challenging to address in adulthood," she said in her speech. The website will be a source of information for teachers, parents, and kids about mental health issues and other topics.
5 Meghan Markle: She Has Classy And Chic Fashion Choices
Meghan dresses well. She’s never too exposed or too sexy, but she’s chic AF and she even had her own clothing collection with UK brand Reitmans. The capsule collection is no longer available, but the outfits could take you from day to night with sleek and sophisticated shirts, pants and skirts. Meghan is always classic in her attire, never too trendy.
But Meghan likes to go casual too, she’s just always put together. She will rock a pair of classic jeans and add a long structured coat or trench with heels to dress up her look. And she isn’t afraid to show off a little leg usually with a nude heel (although that may change when she’s married). It's like she’s been dressing to be a Royal for years.
4 Kate Middleton: She Loves A Nice Pair Of Skinny Jeans
Kate loves herself a good pair of jeans. Before marrying William you could spot her in denim all the time. She’s gotten a little more formal in her speaking engagement attire, but she still loves herself a nice pair of jeans. Her favorites are usually skinny jeans from Topshop and Zara, although she loves a good pair of the pricier, J Brand jeans.
Kate can often be spotted in floor length gowns, sky-high heels, and expensive jewels, but she looks most comfortable in denim. Kate has paired her jeans with a fitted blazer, BUt on her downtime, Kate was seen with a pair of her favorite Zara Moto jeans that cost her a whopping $50 and she’s worn a ton of times. Kate’s relatable even though she’s now a Royal.
3 Meghan Markle: She’s A Divorcee Which Is Super Relatable
Meghan has a little baggage, who doesn’t. She was married before. Not sure how the Queen feels about a divorcee in the Kingdom, but Harry loves her so who cares. Meghan married Trevor Engelson in 2011 and filed for divorce a mere two years later in 2013. Trevor is a film producer, but he also manages screenwriters, actors, novelists, and film directors, according to The Sun. Meghan and Trevor met in 2004 and dated a full six years before becoming engaged in 2010. They married a year later in a destination wedding in Jamaica, surrounded by close family and friends. The duo looked in love but work was reportledly to blame for the split. Meghan filmed Suits in Canada and the long distance relationship faltered soon after the wedding.
2 Kate Middleton: She’s Been Caught Sunbathing Topless And Brushed It Off
Before Kate became The Duchess of Cambridge she was William’s beautiful girlfriend and hounded by the paparazzi. The paparazzi stalking continued after they married in 2011. While vacationing in France in 2012 the paps snapped photos of a topless Kate who was sunbathing next to William. At the time of the incident, William released a statement of his disappointment, “My wife and I thought that we could go to France for a few days in a secluded villa owned by a member of my family, and thus enjoy our privacy.” The couple took the tabloid who published the photos to court. Kate probably caught flack from the Royal family, but she still brushed it off like a boss and now sits next to William and could one day be Queen.
1 Meghan Markle: She’s A Hollywood Outsider
Megs is an outsider. Not only is she not a royal, she’s not even British. And she’s an American born actress. Not sure how the strict and traditional Queen feels about her future granddaughter-in-law having a naughty scene on TV? She had a racy scene on Suits. But it was just acting, not a 'home movie' like a Kardashian. And the Royals have had their fair share of outrageous controversies. But nothing says ‘People’s Princess’ more than someone who’s an outsider and has a little baggage like a former marriage and family drama. There has already been gossip surrounding her relationship with her estranged family on her father’s side. But she is close to her mother and rumor has it she may walk her daughter down the aisle. Not sure if that will happen. And that makes Meghan relatable to the people---a divorce, family probs and stiff competition in the Princess game.
SOURCES: money.cnn.com, eonline.com, people.com, usweekly.com, thesun.com
