Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle have been constantly compared since it was revealed that the latter was dating Prince Harry. But could the judgment and opinions of fans be mostly based on race?

Proudly showing off those legs

The Duchess of Cambridge showed the world that she isn’t afraid to reveal a little skin when she competed on behalf of The Royal Foundation at the King’s Cup regatta.

Getty Images / Ideal Image

The inaugural event is hopefully the first of many as the goal is to bring more awareness to the benefits of sports while also raising funds for Action on Addiction, Child Bereavement UK, and a few other charities that the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge support.

Getty Images / Ideal Image

As the sports began, Kate Middleton changed into a more fitting and sporty ensemble which included a pair of black super short shorts that put most of her legs on display.

Many of her fans hailed this style choice and believed it was a smart look overall.

He gets it #thighaspirations #DuchessofCambridge #KateMiddleton pic.twitter.com/ImdVC3Y8KQ

— Royal Pudding (@RoyalPudding24) August 9, 2019

Double standards

In 2018, during her Australian tour, the Duchess of Sussex made headlines when she and her husband greeted fans while in Fraser Island. For this appearance, Meghan Markle chose a striped dress that featured a slit which went way high up to her thighs.

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At the time, people had opinions about how she was misrepresenting the royal family by revealing so much of her legs.

As a result, some people are now commenting about Kate’s recent outfit, wondering why she isn’t being judged for exposing her legs meanwhile Meghan was criticized pretty harshly over the same thing.

Ikr! Blame the bias/jealous reporter whose always criticize meghan..she’s doing great for UK but look what she got..in their eyes she’s always wrong,not following royal protocol etc..😠

— MeghanHarry_19 (@MeghanharryF) August 8, 2019

It is part of the racist they are but B media will claim they are not racist. The world finally acknowledging what we have being trying to get hold of saying since 2016.What types of human beings put a pregnant woman through such torture and emotional abuse as BM did to Meghan

— Mamatorma kenema (@MKenema) August 9, 2019

A few internet users also wondered if this could all be a form of racial discrimination as Meghan, being half-black, isn’t allowed to get away with the same things due to her skin color.

They both showed their legs. One was praised, the other was criticized. One is white, the other a bit black. Guess who was criticized! #meghanmarkle #duchessofsussex #KateMiddleton pic.twitter.com/XOq2COY2CD

— Nataly_peonies 🥑🍌🤖🌪 🌪 🌪 (@NatalyPeonies) August 8, 2019

Lady on the right, Duchess Meghan has a very lady like posture – not sure about person on the left – very unbecoming having your bum in the air like that 🤔🤔

— Shabee (@SharonS35533368) August 9, 2019

Not just about the clothes

The idea that Kate gets away with more things than Meghan isn’t really new. One Twitter user, Kreauna, opined that Meghan almost always gets criticized anytime she makes a public appearance even though Kate has already done exactly the same thing in the past.

People talk about Meghan Markle everytime she makes an appearance. And it’s because she’s half black. If she wasn’t she wouldn’t get backlash for crossing her legs or showing her shoulders. Ex: Kate Middleton did the same thing. No backlash tho 🤦🏾‍♀️

— Kreauna (@kreaunab) June 26, 2018

It can’t be easy being slammed by the public over virtually everything. But let’s hope Meghan Markle stays strong through the constant judgment and criticisms.