Royal fans defend Princess Beatrice amid engagement photo 'copycat' claims
According to some royal observers, Princess Beatrice is a straight-up copycat.
The eldest daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York confirmed her engagement to boyfriend Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi last Thursday.
Now, because even happy royal news can't go unscrutinised, there are claims one of the couple's official photos is an imitation of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's. (Sigh.)
Proud mum Sarah Ferguson tweeted a series of black and white engagement portraits of her daughter and future son-in-law, captured by photographer Misan Harriman.
A photo of Beatrice in Mozzi's arms, with her head resting against his shoulder, was quickly compared to a portrait of Harry and Meghan shared after their engagement.
In that image, captured by Alexi Lubomirski, the couple's foreheads rest against one another with Meghan's hand resting against her fiance's cheek.
Apparently, both photos being in black and white with a similar positioning of the couples is all the necessary proof that Beatrice is one big copycat. (Again, sigh.)
The observations began to swirl on Twitter:
"I absolutely cannot with this copy cat family."
"They couldn't envision a different pose/picture. This is ridiculous and pathetic."
"Everyone in the [royal family] wants to be Meghan so bad."
"Not an original bone in their bodies."
For some, the issue was not the similarity, but the difference in public reaction to how Meghan and Harry's black and white photos were received.
In 2017, the Sussexes, particularly Meghan, were criticised by some royal watchers and media publications for being "too Hollywood" and un-royal with their choice.
LISTEN: 9Honey's The Windsors podcast takes a closer look at Meghan's transition from TV actress to royal family duchess. (Post continues.)
"Now Beatrice does the same, it's all ooohs and aaahs. The hypocrisy," one Twitter user noted.
However, many were quick to point out that, well... engagement portraits tend to be fairly same-same, regardless of the subjects' identities.
It's common to see photos of newly-engaged photos cuddling up to one another in lovey-dovey poses, not unlike those of Beatrice and Mozzi and Harry and Meghan.
"Is there something incredibly unique that I am missing here or are they both just the standard pose for this type of moment?" one said.
"Who cares if she used black & white? Meghan and Harry didn't start that trend," another argued.
"It's a popular filter/colour scheme for many engaged couples."
Fans also made the point that Meghan and Harry's engagement photos weren't unlike those of royal couples before them, including William and Kate.
Twitter user Kathryn May perhaps summed it up best:
"I really do not understand why it is so difficult to just congratulate them and leave it at that," she wrote.
"Harry and Meghan's engagement photos are gorgeous, why is it bad for them to emulate that? Why are we tearing one couple down to build another up?"
Speaking of royal engagement portraits, scroll through the gallery below to see all the loved-up photos through the ages:
