Tracey Cox gives verdict on Kate and William and Harry and Meghan

Tracey Cox gives verdict on Kate and William and Harry and Meghan

With a royal wedding looming, it’s hard not to compare the two couples the world will be watching.

Kate and William and Meghan and Harry are very different couples in very different relationships.

Kate and William took the traditional path: they were college sweethearts before they got married and had children, so have grown up together.

Meghan and Harry met in their 30s with past relationships and life experiences in tow.

Kate might be a ‘commoner’, but she was born into an upper-middle-class family with British parents and relatives who played host to British royalty ‘as long ago as 1926’.

Meghan’s mixed race, American, Catholic, divorced, an older woman, an actress and about to marry an English Prince.

What?! 

Traditional royalists threw their hands in the air when Britain’s most eligible bachelor chose her to be his wife even if the rest of us cheered (Vive La Difference!)

Kate respectfully toed the line right from the beginning, Meghan seems to be ripping up the royal protocol book as she goes along.

The big question is which approach and relationship is going to survive the intense pressure of being royal long term?

Of course, there’s another important factor which hugely influences all their lives: William is highly likely to be King and Kate most probably his Queen.

The responsibility on their relationship is far greater and Meghan and Harry will have far more freedom.

Personally, I’m batting for both couples but there are strengths and weaknesses to each relationship style.

Which one is more likely to last the distance: traditional or modern?

KATE AND WILLIAM

WHY THEY’LL LAST THE DISTANCE

She’s got the right background

She’s educated (a degree in Art History) but not particularly ambitious career wise – possibly because she met William early in her life and knew that if they married, she’d have no chance to further it anyway.

William is heir to the throne after Prince Charles and needs a wife who can devote herself entirely to him and royal obligations; Kate’s clearly prepared to do this.

They’re both crystal clear on what’s expected of each other which means no misunderstandings about their roles within the relationship.

He gives her priority

William mostly toes the line but speaks up when it comes to family. He continues to break protocol by travelling with Kate and the children (multiple heirs to the throne shouldn’t travel together in case there’s an accident).

He has a strong commitment to his personal relationship with his family as well as respect for his royal role.

They took their time to get to know each other

Kate and William met in college and didn’t get engaged until five years after they graduated.

Couples who get engaged after a longer engagement tend to last longer than couples who get engaged while in the first flush of romance.

The pair also broke up for a few months, then reunited, showing they’re capable of healing old wounds and moving forward without dwelling on past slights.

They accept what’s expected of them

Compare the engagement interviews of the two couples and Kate and William seem formal and unaffectionate.

They sat apart and rarely touched – the most we saw was the odd pat on a knee – and angled their bodies towards the interviewer not each other.

But this was because they were following unwritten protocol set by Queen and Prince Phillip who virtually never indulge in PDA’s.

Kate treads carefully and defers to William, lets him do the leading and talking – all of which is expected of a future King of England.

She dresses the part

Some say her clothes are matronly and way too old for her (Kate’s one year younger than Meghan but appears older probably because of her dress sense) but her style is classic, timeless and very royal.

Besides, she can’t be that boring because she created the ‘Duchess Effect’: when Kate wears something it almost instantly sells out.

They have history and are very similar

Couples who get together young have history: they know so much about each other, they don’t have to explain themselves.

They’re both English and have a lot of the same friends as well as shared cultural references and memories.

All of this is incredibly important in long-term relationships.

The couple that play together, stay together

They might not be publically physically affectionate but there’s lots of eye contact and clear affection between Kate and William.

They’re smiley and often photographed having a good laugh together.

This suggests they prioritise having fun and this is an accurate predictor of high relationship satisfaction and an important part of a successful relationship.

They clearly share the same sense of humour, they’re both sporty, up for a laugh, and competitive in a good way.

They like doing the same things as well: Kate admits they have ‘date nights’ where they stay in, cook and watch Game of Thrones.

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