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Meghan Markle might have left the royal family to live a more private life, but the Duchess of Sussex doesn’t exactly get a ton of privacy. While Meghan has more freedom than she did under Buckingham Palace’s rule, she is still the center of plenty of paparazzi photos and news stories while living in California.

Now, an expert is speaking up about why Meghan is often caught smiling when the paparazzi are around — and the reason is a little harsh toward Meghan’s character.

Candid photo of Meghan Markle mid-conversation
Candid photo of Meghan Markle mid-conversation | Joshua Sammer/Getty Images for Invictus Games Dusseldorf 2023

Royal expert claims Meghan Markle smiles for the camera to pretend her life is great

Meghan and Prince Harry have been living in California since 2020, when the two removed themselves from the royal family’s institution. Although they have returned to the UK for a handful of reasons, they’ve spent almost all of their time avoiding Harry’s home country. A royal reporter told Sky New Australia (via Express) that Meghan brings out her “megawatt grin” on purpose.

“I often find with Meghan though that she is very up, and if she does see a photographer she will sort of bring out that big megawatt grin,” Louise Roberts said. “Sometimes to sort of create a bit of an allure that she’s got some great news or there’s some fantastic announcement she’s about to make to keep herself sort of relevant in that way.”

Basically, it seems at least one expert thinks Meghan puts on a show to make it seem like she is living her best life — of course, that is only one person’s opinion. It’s possible Meghan is just in good spirits when she’s out and about. Roberts did note that it appeared nothing was “too staged” when the paparazzi recently caught Meghan out while Harry was visiting King Charles. “We were kind of spared anything really set up, like Meghan browsing ‘get well soon’ cards or buying bunches of flowers or something like that.”

But is the reasoning too harsh? Some people prefer to smile for the paparazzi because it’s better than looking miserable — it doesn’t always mean they’re trying to be fake. Plus, paparazzi photos have a greater chance of being flattering when there is a smile involved. Perhaps Meghan doesn’t want to deal with potentially unflattering images of herself on the internet. It seems that no matter what the duchess does, those who dislike her will find a reason to criticize — apparently it’s even wrong for her to smile now, too.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry | Aaron Chown/PA Images/Getty Images
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Will Meghan Markle travel to the UK to see King Charles and Kate Middleton?

Right now, both Charles and Kate are working through their own separate medical diagnoses. Kate was hospitalized back in mid-January for a planned abdominal surgery, while Charles is currently undergoing cancer treatment. Rumor has it that Meghan and Harry sent their well wishes to Kate for a speedy recovery, but there is no evidence that Harry stopped to visit his sister-in-law while he was in the UK.

Perhaps whether Meghan decides to visit her in-laws in the UK depends more on how the recoveries go. It’s possible Meghan and the kids will visit Kate and Charles sometime later this year, but there isn’t much evidence right now to suggest Meghan is planning a trip over there. Of course, Charles does want a relationship with his grandkids, so that could be a good excuse for the family to spend some time all together.

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