Rule-breaker Duchess Meghan wants to sit next to Harry during formal dinner parties

I am deeply uncouth. I am but a mere peasant. I was quite far into adulthood before I realized that the “traditional” dinner party rule was that married couples should not be seated together. I think I learned that in an article about state dinner etiquette – traditionally, at black-tie gatherings and really formal dinners, you won’t even put a husband and wife at the same table, or if you do, they should not be seated side-by-side. When the Obamas were in the White House, they changed that – for all of their formal and informal dinners, they allowed married peeps to sit together and it was a BIG deal in etiquette circles. Well, it seems that the Duchess of Sussex doesn’t see the point in all of those seat-placement rules either. If she’s going to a dinner party with Harry, she wants to be seated with Harry. So of course this little item made it into the Daily Mail’s gossip column, Talk of the Town.

She’s certainly nobody’s fool but I hear the Duchess of Sussex has found it hard to get her head around society seating plans. There are three rules about what is known as placement. The first is one must always pronounce it in the French way, emphasising all three syllables to avoid sounding ‘common’ or, God forbid, American. Secondly, couples should never be put together to avoid a public display of affection putting guests off their food. And finally, so as not to disrupt the intricate social balancing act that is placement, one must always sit where placed. The clue, after all, is in the name.

So imagine the horror when Meghan first burst into Prince Harry’s dinner party circuit and dismissed the etiquette as ‘exclusive’ and ‘traditional’ (terms that it should be noted are rarely used disparagingly in Royal circles). The Duchess has been insisting on sitting next to her Prize Prince ever since, rejoicing in those affectionate dinner-table PDAs. Kinder members of society roll their eyes and whisper that the poor lamb can’t help being Américaine. The less forgiving have just stopped inviting her to dinner.

[From The Daily Mail]

Thus, the “Meghan doesn’t know her ‘place’” headlines. Because the Brits really can’t quit with those language choices and racist dog-whistles. Yes, of course the biracial duchess doesn’t “know her place.” Either that or she thinks the stuffy aristocracy and back-stabbing royal family are all just completely bonkers and she wants to be able to pinch Harry under the table whenever one of them says something stupid. Also: at this point, does Harry even enjoy those kinds of formal dinners? Pre-Meghan, he always complained about having to attend that sh-t. I imagine it comes up during their diplomatic international tours though – embassies hosting dinners for the Sussexes are probably asked to seat Harry and Meghan together. And I bet it’s done. Anyway, this was just another story to otherize Meghan and distract from the fact that the Duke of York was tight with Jeffrey Epstein, who just died under mysterious circumstances.

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