It is something that millions of people would not bat an eyelid at.

But when Meghan arrived at her first solo engagement, royal protection officers gasped in horror.

On that chilly autumnal morning in September 2018, the Duchess of Sussex, then 37, stepped out of the luxury car in a sleek black Givenchy gown at the Royal Academy of Arts in central London.

After greeting her host, the Oceania art exhibit by Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London Sir Kenneth Olisa, Meghan shut the car door behind her with a perfectly manicured hand.

It spurred many Sussex fans to take to social media and praise her ‘down-to-earth’ approach to royal life.

 

‘Meghan is just one of us,’ one user wrote on X/Twitter while royal correspondent Emily Andrews added: ‘A princess who still takes the time to shut her car door. Well done Meghan.’

Some commentators were quick to theorise that Meghan may have actually ‘breached royal protocol’ in closing the car door herself while others read it as the first sign of her defiance, eventually leading to Megxit.

But the real reason royals aren’t meant to close the doors of the cars they arrive in is far more sombre, according to a host of etiquette experts and royal protection officers.

The Duchess of Sussex arrives to the Royal Academy of Arts in London on September 25, 2018
She is wearing a sleek black gown from one of her favourite brands Givenchy
The duchess was greeted to the art exhibition by Lord-Lieutenant of Greater London Sir Kenneth Olisa
Meghan then shut the car door behind her with a perfectly manicured hand
Meghan Markle breaks royal tradition by closing her own car door

Talking to Radio 1 Newsbeat at the time, etiquette expert William Hanson clarified that Meghan’s action does not constitute a breach of protocol.

Rather, he said that members of the royal family typically have their car doors opened and closed by a member of staff for security reasons rather than ‘airs and graces’.

He said: ‘Whether she thought long and hard about it before it happened, I doubt it, I suspect it was force of habit, but it is interesting to see that many have noticed as usually dignitaries have a member of staff to do this for them.

‘That comes from a security point of view, mainly, not just for perpetuating airs and graces.’

However he noted: ‘There would have been little security bother last night with Meghan closing her own door as she exited the car on the side closest to the Royal Academy.’

When a royal rolls up in a car to attend an engagement, that is when they are at their most vulnerable to attack, protection officers warned The Sun on Sunday.

If something were to happen to Meghan, she would have been unable to get back into the car quickly after shutting the door herself as the vehicle is self-locking, essentially slowing down an escape.

A security source told the publication : ‘Although having a car door closed might seem like a trivial thing, it could be the difference.

A royal protection officer holds the door open for Princess Diana to attend the ballet in London in July 1988
The bodyguard holds an umbrella for the Princess of Wales in June 1989 – after opening and closing the car door in Northampton

The late Queen Elizabeth has the door of her Range Rover held open for her as she attends the Royal Windsor Horse Show in May 2019

‘God forbid if anything did go wrong arriving at a royal engagement, but security need to be able to get them back into cars in seconds if needs be.

‘If they’re closed and locked, it’s impossible.’

Meghan and Harry themselves have spoken of the death threats they were receiving on an everyday basis.

As early as 2016, two years before the car door closing incident, Prince Harry issued a statement attacking ‘the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments’ for targeting Meghan.

And the Metropolitan Police assistant commissioner Neil Basu later verified that the duchess received ‘disgusting and very real’ threats while a working royal.

So when that car door slammed, it is unsurprising that royal protection officers everywhere were left ‘weeping’, according to Grazia magazine.

After her visit to the Royal Academy of Arts in London, there is no doubt that the duchess would have been reminded of the importance of allowing her bodyguard to shut the car door.

This advice would become far more pertinent when she and Harry announced they were expecting a child, Prince Archie, in October 2018.

Meghan arrives at the wedding of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank on October 12, 2018
A month after she shut her own car door, Meghan allowed her protection to close it behind her during a visit to Auckland, New Zealand
Prince Harry and Meghan arrive at reception with New Zealand PM

And it seems Meghan heeded this lesson as she attended Princess Eugenie’s wedding to Jack Brooksbank weeks later on October 12, 2018.

The duchess arrived to Windsor Castle in a navy coat and matching dress from her favourite label Givenchy, allowing a uniformed member of staff to open and close the car door for her.

The advice had clearly stuck with Meghan by the time she visited the Auckland War Museum on October 31, 2018.

Wearing a stunning navy dress by British designer Antonio Berardi, the duchess stepped out of the car in a pair of nude heels to attend the event hosted by New Zealand’s Prime Minister at the time Jacinda Arden.

Waving to the crowds, Meghan walked into the museum as her royal protection officer closed the car door behind her.