- On Sunday, Meghan Markle stood on a different balcony from Queen Elizabeth II and Kate Middleton during a Remembrance Day service honoring veterans.
- According to royal expert and CNN commentator Victoria Arbiter, Markle was on a separate balcony because of her rank within the royal family.
- Since there was limited space on the “small” balconies, the Queen simply stood next to the two future Queen consorts, “as she would … for any other occasion with limited space,” Arbiter said.
- As the wife of Prince William, who is second in line for the British throne, Middleton outranks Markle in the royal family’s order of precedence.
- Markle’s husband, Prince Harry, is currently sixth in line to the throne.
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Over the weekend, royal fans may have noticed that Meghan Markle stood on a different balcony than the Queen and Kate Middleton during a Remembrance Day service outside The Cenotaph in London.
It turns out there’s a simple reason why, according to a royal expert.
Wearing all-black ensembles and fascinators, the Queen, Markle, and Middleton watched from balconies of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as Prince Charles, Prince William, Prince Harry, and Prince Andrew laid wreaths on the memorial below.
While Queen Elizabeth II and Middleton stood on the same balcony, along with Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, Markle was accompanied by Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Tim Laurence.
This isn't the first time Markle has been placed on a separate balcony from Middleton and Her Majesty. During last year's service, Markle was accompanied by Elke Büdenbender - a German judge and the wife of Germany's president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier - while the Queen, Camilla, and Middleton shared a different balcony.
According to royal expert and CNN commentator Victoria Arbiter, this is because of Markle's rank within the royal family.
"There was absolutely no slight, no scandal, no hidden message in terms of who stood where during the Remembrance Day commemorations," Arbiter told Insider last year.
Since the balconies of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office are small, Arbiter explained, it was "impossible for everyone to stand together." The queen therefore stood next to the two future queen consorts, "as she would … for any other occasion with limited space," Arbiter said.
As the wives of Charles and William, who are first and second in line for the British throne, respectively, Camilla and Middleton outrank Markle in the royal family's order of precedence. Markle's husband, Harry, is currently sixth in line to the throne.
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