Ever since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle released their holiday card on December 23, we kind of haven’t been able to stop talking about it. Little Lilibet! Archie’s red hair!
And now we have another reason to love the family photo: Meghan Markle’s pose is nearly identical to a photo of Princes Diana holding baby Prince William on February 1, 1983.
In the pictures of both Meghan and Diana, the mothers are shown holding their babies in an upright position and looking up at their children with loving eyes. Turns out, these similarities reveal a lot about each mother and their respective relationships with their families—at least according to Judi James, a body language expert known for analyzing the Royal Family.
“The body language that Meghan uses with her baby here is an almost direct and perfect copy of a pose adopted by Diana with her own baby many years before,” James said in an interview with Daily Express. “Both women define themselves as loving, doting mothers with this pose and both allow their babies to be seen in a playful mood as they laugh and smile down at them.”
James goes on to describe the joy and delight in both mothers’ faces, and how that joy is mirrored by the children—Lilibet in 2021, and William in 1983.
There is one notable difference between the photos, however, and it’s a sad one.
“Both Meghan and Diana are seen in profile, leaning back to look up at their children as they raise them higher than their own heads,” James said. “But, although Meghan’s head leans back onto the chest of the royal prince she so clearly loves and is loved by, Diana’s head is sadly supported by a cushion alone.”
This is certainly not the first time the Duchess of Sussex has been compared to her late mother-in-law. Meghan’s extensive humanitarian work has often been held up next to Diana’s charitable spirit, and both women famously dealt with depression while pregnant with their royal babies.
Most notable, however, is the way Meghan and Diana have both been treated by the press. Harry has compared the negative coverage his wife often receives to the way tabloids used to chase Diana in the 80s and 90s. This is one of the biggest reasons the Duke and Duchess of Sussex decided to step away from their royal roles and move to California last year.