There are a number of specific fashion tricks members of the royal family are known to stick to when stepping out for public engagements – the Queen for example always wears bold colours so she can be seen amongst the crowds – and now, it's been revealed that both the Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex have a handy rule of their own. The sisters-in-law generally carry their accessories in their left hands, so that they can always have their right hand free to greet people and shake hands. Aw.
Exhibit A: Meghan at her recent visit to The Mayhew
According to royal expert Myka Meier of Beaumont Etiquette, who spoke to Red magazine about Kate and Meghan's go-to trick, it's not just a rule reserved for palace ladies. "When entering a room or event, handbags or briefcases are held in the LEFT hand so that your right hand stays open to meet, greet and shake hands! Prince Charles does this too!" she said.
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Interestingly, it's often been thought that royal women use their handbags as a way of avoiding any tricky social situations, too, so if you ever see them clutching their handbags with both hands, that could be the reason. No one likes an awkward handshake.
Kate keeping her clutch firmly in her left hand
There are plenty of other guidelines the royals are thought to loosely follow, including avoiding selfies with fans, not signing autographs and perfecting the 'Duchess slant' made famous by Kate. Of course, almost all of these aren't set in stone (remember Prince William's selfie with a young girl on Christmas Day 2014?).
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Either way, we reckon Meghan and Kate's handy technique is pretty useful – after all they do do a lot of hand-shaking. Plus, if we owned as many gorgeous handbags as they do, we'd want to keep them firmly close by at all times, public engagement or not…
