Meghan Markle has this habit of putting her hands inside her pocket when she's in royal engagements. The Duchess of Sussex has been photographed a number of times with this very casual look but it is, apparently, unfitting for someone of her stature.
A royal observer called out Meghan on Twitter for putting her hand in her dress' pockets. Apparently, Prince Harry's wife is courting too much attention when she's doing this because she is breaking the rules.
Etiquette expert William Hanson said that a hand-in-pocket style is "too relaxed and too unprofessional" for a royal in public. Although Meghan Markle, and to some extent Prince Harry, want to appear casual and informal to look approachable, Hanson said that this style is taking it a bit too far.
There is "good casual" and "bad casual" for the royals, Hanson said. While the world will not crumble if Meghan has her hands in her pocket, it's a behavior that must still be corrected because she is a working royal. Thus, the expert advised Meghan to be much more aware to avoid this gesture for future engagements.
According to body language expert Judi James, however, Meghan Markle likes putting her hands in her pocket as a matter of style or fashion preference and nothing more. Though the gesture is commonly associated with a desire to hide or shy away from the public or to cover up an anxiety around people, James does not see this as the case for the Duchess of Sussex.
James said that the duchess is a confident woman who is used to public attention as an actress so there is no reason for her to be anxious in a crowd. Thus, it's more likely that her habit of putting her hands in her is driven by her love for '50s style and fashion.
There was a time, however, when Queen Elizabeth herself experimented with putting her hands in her pocket. She was photographed with this pause one time and it caused quite a stir in the palace.
Author Angela Kelly revealed in her book, "The Other Side of the Coin: The Queen, the Dresser and the Wardrobe," that the Queen Mother chided Queen Elizabeth for doing this like it was a scandal. Although Queen Elizabeth looked like a natural in her pose, the photograph turned out quite candid that palace officials feared it would "bring the monarchy down."
