Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle were both commoners before tying the knot with Prince William and Prince Harry. The Duchess of Cambridge, especially the Duchess of Sussex, are well-known in their own rights. But, their marriage to the Princes certainly took their popularity to a whole new level. However, it seems that Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle are now overshadowing their royal husbands.
Many have noticed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’ tour in South Africa was all about Markle. On their Instagram post, netizens called their recent trip “Meghan tour” and “Meghan show” as they felt that Prince Harry was not given the proper exposure and acknowledgment during their tour. One netizen even demanded, “More Harry, please!”
Royal expert Daniela Elser, then, pointed out that it is the same case with Prince William and Kate Middleton. “The same dynamic played out when Wills and Kate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge toured North America after they tied the knot in 2011. The future king, once the major draw for the hordes had been demoted to a largely supporting role,” she wrote.
While it seems like the shift of attention may have something to do with the modern age and social media, this actually had been happening when Princess Diana was still alive. In fact, the Princes of Wales herself revealed that it was a shock for her that people were more interested in her than her husband, the future king of England.
Princess Diana knew that the Prince of Wales was not too pleased about it. “Now, if you’re a man, like my husband a proud man, you mind about that if you hear it every day for four weeks. And you feel low about it, instead of feeling happy and sharing it,” The People’s Princess shared. She also noted that the excessive media attention didn’t flatter her at all, because she said that "with the media attention came a lot of jealousy, a great deal of complicated situations arose because of that,” she added.
Now, it seems nothing has changed as the women are still getting more attention than their husbands. But, living their whole lives being watched under a microscope, Prince William and Prince Harry are probably not really that bothered for getting some slack, thanks to their very popular wives.
