Meghan Markle, 41, joined the Royal Family in 2018 after marrying Prince Harry at St George’s Chapel in Windsor. The Duchess of Sussex became the first American to marry into the British Royal Family, but may have found comfort with Autumn Kelly. A body language expert said Autumn “always seemed to be looking so relaxed and fun-fuelled on royal occasions” which may have made her the perfect “ally” for Meghan.
Autumn Kelly, who married Princess Anne’s eldest child Peter Phillips at the same wedding venue, is from Montreal, Quebec.
The royal couple shares two children, Savannah, 12, and Isla, 10, but they sadly divorced in 2021.
Autumn and Meghan posed together on the Buckingham Palace balcony for Trooping the Colour soon after the Duchess of Sussex’s wedding in 2018.
Their respective husbands, Harry and Peter, stood in between the wives who could be seen laughing together.
The Duchess of Sussex has a strong link with Canada, as she filmed her TV show Suits there for seven years.
The former actress lived in a property in Toronto during those years and has frequently expressed a strong love for the country.
It is not known whether Autumn and Meghan had a strong friendship while the Duchess was living in the UK, but they certainly could be seen enjoying each other’s company at times.
Judi James, a professional body language expert, spoke exclusively to Express.co.uk to explain whether or not the two women had a strong connection.
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She claimed: “When Meghan first joined the royal Firm it was always assumed that she would be rather isolated as the only royal wife to make the move from the US to integrate into UK culture and tradition at its most extreme.
“There was one wife who had made the transition though; not from the US but from Canada, the country where Meghan had happily made her home for several years.
“Autumn Philips might be divorced from Princess Anne’s son Peter now but her popularity among members of the Royal Family has held strong despite this.
“She is on good terms with Peter and his relatives and all of her public appearances see her surrounded with the kind of body language that suggests she is still a very central figure who is viewed with a lot of affection.”
Judi expanded on whether or not Autumn was a “role model” for the Duchess of Sussex.
She added: “Autumn might have made the perfect ally and role model for Meghan during her royal induction, especially as she has always seemed to be looking so relaxed and fun-fuelled on royal occasions.
“She might have helped Meghan see a royal route where she could learn to relax more once she had got through a period of understandable tension as she learnt on the job.
“Glimpses of the two women here suggest Meghan might have been viewing Autumn with interest.
“They are at one of the most formal and high-profile royal outings, but Autumn is more than happy to instigate some fun, making other royals like Camilla and Kate relax a little and laugh with her.
“As Autumn laughs and as Meghan watches her carefully, we can see Peter smiling at her in admiration and even Camilla leaning forward to share the joke.”
Judi argues that Autumn may have created a “possibility” for Meghan to be able to enjoy her time as a member of the Royal Family.
She explained: “There must have been many times when Meghan thought being a royal was short on humour, fun and family fondness but Autumn might just have shown her it was perfectly possible for a North American girl to crack it without too many sacrifices or compromises.”
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