At first glance, the lives of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and her late mother-in-law, Diana, Princess of Wales couldn't seem more different. Diana was from a large aristocratic British family [1] and married very young, while Meghan is an American actress who's been divorced once and married her prince well into her thirties [2]. When you look closer, though, it turns out that these two popular, unconventional princesses have more in common than it seems! From their dedication to charitable causes [3] to their complicated personal backstories [4] and love lives [5], Diana and Meghan share several life details — see just how much they have in common.
They Both Have Divorced Parents
Meghan's parents have both made headlines (for very different reasons [6]), but Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland [7] have been divorced since Meghan was six years old. Diana was only age seven when her parents, John Spencer (then Viscount Althorp) and Frances Spencer, Lady Althorp, divorced. Diana and Meghan both have paternal half-siblings, although Meghan's half-siblings came from her father's previous relationship, while Diana's came from her father's remarriage to Raine McCorquodale (pictured together in 1980).
They Attended All-Girls Schools
Although Diana and Meghan had very different childhoods [8], they did have one thing in common: both attended private all-girls schools. Diana began attending Riddlesworth Hall School, an all-girls boarding school, when she was nine. Meghan, meanwhile, attended Immaculate Heart High School, a Catholic girls school in California. On the morning of Meghan's wedding to Prince Harry [9], the current Immaculate Heart girls gathered to watch their alumna become royalty!
They Worked Prior to Becoming Royalty
Despite her aristocratic background, Diana did hold a series of real jobs before she married Prince Charles. Most notably, she was a nanny and teacher's assistant at a kindergarten. As we know, Meghan's career was a little more high-profile than that: she was an actress, best known for co-starring for several seasons [10] of the USA series Suits.
They Became Engaged Soon After Meeting Their Princes
Prince Charles's whirlwind romance with Diana [11] was the stuff headlines were made of. Charles, reportedly under pressure to find a "suitable" bride since his first love, Camilla Shand, did not qualify, took an interest in Diana in the Summer of 1980. They were engaged in February 1981. Meghan and Harry took a little longer to decide on marriage: they began dating in June 2016 [12], and announced their engagement a little over a year later in September 2017.
They Share Charity Causes
Both of Diana's sons and their wives often honor the late princess in both style and actions. Meghan took this very seriously, choosing a cause dear to Diana's heart as her first royal charity appearance. In December 2017, Meghan and Harry made their first philanthropic outing as an engaged couple to the Terrence Higgins Trust World AIDS Day Charity Fair in Nottingham. AIDS research was one of Diana's signature causes [13], particularly in the 1980s and '90s when knowledge about the disease was sparse and fear was high.
They've Both Won Over the Public
During her lifetime, Diana earned the nickname of "the people's princess" for her accessible, friendly demeanor that broke free of typical royal restraints. In the short time since Meghan has been part of the royal family, she's developed a similar reputation for breaking royal protocol [14] in favor of being more approachable — even hugging ordinary people!