Meghan Markle’s Attempt to Match Princess Kate’s Standing Reportedly Backfires

Meghan Markle has spent much of the past six years building a life and public identity outside the Royal Family. However, despite stepping away from royal duties, comparisons with senior members of the monarchy continue to follow her.

That was once again evident this week when the Duchess of Sussex, 45, joined Prince Harry for an appearance in Canada. Meghan made a striking entrance in a £1,329 ($1,795) Greta Constantine gown, completing her look with diamonds that once belonged to Princess Diana.

The glamorous appearance quickly attracted attention, but the conversation soon shifted. Within hours, royal fans and commentators were drawing comparisons between Meghan’s latest look and Princess Catherine, once again placing the two women side by side in the public spotlight.

For someone determined to establish a distinct public identity, being immediately compared with Princess Catherine was perhaps not the outcome Meghan might have hoped for.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped back from royal duties in 2020, making it clear they wanted to pursue a different path. Six years later, however, their public profile remains closely connected to the Royal Family, with royal links continuing to feature prominently in coverage surrounding the couple.

The recent Invictus Games countdown offered another example. Prince Harry travelled to Britain for events marking one year until the Games, while Meghan remained away from the official engagements.

Despite her absence, the Duchess still became part of the wider conversation after sharing carefully chosen glimpses of the Sussex family’s private life. Among them were images featuring Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet during a visit to Althorp, the childhood home of their late grandmother, Princess Diana.

Meghan may not have attended the Invictus events herself, but her family updates ensured she remained firmly within the surrounding media narrative.

That same debate resurfaced during Harry and Meghan’s visit to Australia in April, which critics were quick to describe as resembling an unofficial royal tour. Although the Sussexes no longer represent the Crown, many elements of the trip carried echoes of their former working royal lives.

There were formal receptions, public appearances, extensive media coverage and a carefully planned wardrobe—all familiar features of an overseas royal visit. The crucial difference, however, was that Harry and Meghan were travelling in a private capacity rather than carrying out engagements on behalf of the monarchy.

For Meghan, this creates an interesting challenge. She has spent years establishing an independent identity, yet many of the elements surrounding her most prominent appearances—ceremony, international attention and high-profile engagements—remain closely associated with the royal platform she once occupied.

Princess Catherine, by comparison, occupies a very different position. When the 44-year-old Princess of Wales represents the monarchy at home or overseas, her role and purpose are already clearly defined.

She does not need to recreate the appearance of royal life because she remains at the centre of the institution itself.

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The difference between the two women becomes particularly striking when considering the projects they have chosen to make central to their public identities.

Princess Catherine has devoted years to her work on early childhood development, gradually turning the issue into one of the defining causes of her royal career. Rather than being a short-term campaign, it has developed into a long-term programme closely associated with her role as Princess of Wales.

Meghan, meanwhile, has pursued a very different route since leaving royal life. Her lifestyle brand, As Ever, was positioned as an important new chapter—one that could establish her as an entrepreneur and tastemaker while showcasing the California-inspired lifestyle she has embraced.

But their circumstances remain fundamentally different. Catherine’s public influence is supported by an established royal position that she has steadily developed over many years. Meghan, without that institutional platform, must create independent projects capable of generating their own audience and momentum.

In simple terms, Catherine already has a permanent platform through her position within the monarchy, while Meghan’s challenge is to continue building and sustaining platforms of her own.

Fashion similarities are hardly unusual, particularly when two high-profile women are regularly photographed and scrutinised. But in this instance, the comparison arguably distracted from what should have been Meghan’s moment in the spotlight.

Catherine did not attend the event, make a public appearance or contribute to the conversation in any way. Yet her name still became part of the discussion surrounding Meghan’s look, demonstrating just how persistent comparisons between the two women remain.

Their circumstances, however, have changed dramatically since Meghan was a working royal. Today, they operate from entirely different positions and with very different sources of public influence.

Meghan can continue launching businesses, making headline-grabbing appearances and pursuing international projects that echo some elements of traditional royal engagements. She can also develop a distinctive fashion identity, even if individual outfits occasionally draw comparisons with her sister-in-law.

What cannot easily be replicated is Catherine’s established position within the monarchy. As Princess of Wales and a future Queen, her prominence comes not only from publicity or individual projects, but from a constitutional and institutional role that Meghan’s independent career simply does not provide.

Princess Catherine occupies a position that is fundamentally different from Meghan’s. As the Princess of Wales, wife of the future King and mother of the next generation of heirs, she stands at the centre of an institution Meghan and Prince Harry chose to step away from.

Since moving to California, Meghan has worked to establish an identity that exists independently of royal life. New businesses, international appearances and carefully planned public moments can all help strengthen that profile, but they cannot reproduce the position Catherine holds within the monarchy.

That distinction is important. Catherine’s status is tied to her role in the Royal Family and the future of the Crown; it is not something that can be recreated through popularity, commercial success or media attention.

Constant comparisons between the two women therefore risk obscuring Meghan’s own path. Rather than allowing every new venture or appearance to become another competition with her sister-in-law, a stronger strategy may be to build an identity that does not depend on royal parallels at all.

Ultimately, Meghan does not need to become a California counterpart to Princess Catherine. Her bigger challenge is defining what Meghan Markle represents on her own terms.

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