Meghan Markle’s Harper’s Bazaar cover is making headlines not just for the clothes and quotes, but for the moment a house manager reportedly announced, “Meghan, Duchess of Sussex,” into an almost empty Upper East Side room. Supporters say it is simply protocol and branding, with etiquette expert Myka Meier noting that using a British title socially or professionally “is not unusual or improper,” especially when that’s how someone is widely known. Critics, however, accuse Meghan of clinging to status she once claimed not to care about, with royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams calling the scene “pricelessly comic” and suggesting it would fit straight into a South Park sketch. The New York Post’s Kristin Fleming compared it to an old Saturday Night Live bit about overblown introductions, while others pointed out that protocol usually calls for visitors to be presented to a royal, not the royal being announced to a guest. Meanwhile, opinion writers are picking apart the “makeup-free” aesthetic of the shoot, with The Independent’s Katie Rosseinsky questioning why bare-faced celebrity portraits are treated as acts of bravery in between luxury knitwear, Balenciaga, and perfect skin.

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