Meghan Markle is almost unrecognisable in this throwback snap of her theatre days
Meghan Markle proved that social mobility isn't just something confined to the Victorian era, when she - a B-list actress - wed Britain's most eligible bachelor in a ceremony held at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, back in May.
Now, of course, it's difficult to imagine the erstwhile Suits star as anything other than a member of the royal family, but before she became the the Duchess of Sussex, and even before she played Rachel Zane in the legal drama, she was just another kid obsessed with theatre.
American actress, Katharine McPhee took to social media to remind us of this fact when she posted an Instagram of Meghan and her from way back in the day. The pair used to star in musicals together, and Katherine couldn't miss an opportunity to joke that they were still twinning in life - because who isn't a tiny bit bitter about not being a princess?
"Meghan and I did musicals together as kids," she captioned the snap. "She grew up to be the Duchess of Sussex and I grew up to star on the West End, so same life if you ask me. #TBT"
The people of social media just loved the sweet throwback. "Omg this is everything," wrote one Instagram user, while another corroborated "This is your greatest post to date."
"Meghan was so beautiful, genuinely gorgeous even then!!!" wrote a third.
Some people, however, brought nothing but negativity, and lambasted the duchess for her makeup (I mean who didn't slightly overdo it back in the day) and pointed out all the little ways she looks different now - but we're choosing to ignore those kinds of comments.
Accordingly, Kensington Palace are reportedly spending hours each week monitoring sexist, racist and even violent comments directed at Meghan and Kate Middleton, per a source at Hello Magazine.
"The Palace has always monitored comments but it’s a hugely time consuming thing," the publication's insider claimed. "They can block certain words, but some of it is quite serious. Over the course of last year, with hundreds of thousands of comments, there were two or three that were violent threats. You can delete and report and block people and the police have options around particular people. It’s something you have to manage because there’s no other way to control it."
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Kensington Palace has even purportedly turned to Instagram for help in dealing with the negatively under their public accounts. This, of course, has only intensified after reports of a "rivalry" between the two duchesses.
"It follows a Kate vs Meghan narrative and some of the worst stuff is between Kate fans and Meghan fans," the source continued. "Arguments about who looks more appropriate, for example, that turn into personal attacks on other users. It’s creating a supercharged atmosphere and everyone can join in, but what are the consequences of this?"