An Expert Compared Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle, and Princess Diana's Handwriting

The women who have married into the British royal family have a lot in common. Princess Diana (opens in new tab), Kate Middleton (opens in new tab), and Meghan Markle (opens in new tab) are all classy, stylish, brilliant, and generous, just to list off a few of their many amazing qualities. They have all also famously loved to share handwritten notes to show how much they care—and, it turns out, there are also a lot of clues about what they have in common (and how they're different) hidden in their handwritten notes.

Speaking to She Knows (opens in new tab), Sheila Lowe, a forensic handwriting examiner (opens in new tab) and author, (opens in new tab) explained that the three royal ladies definitely differ in how guarded they are.

"On a spectrum, we have Meghan at one end with the strong reserve and need to control her image (not in a negative way),” Lowe said of her initial reaction to their handwriting. "Kate more-or-less in the middle is more willing to be spontaneous. Diana, at the other end, with her relaxed, curvy handwriting is far more willing to wear her heart on her sleeve."

“Meghan’s beautiful writing has many flourishes that on one hand draw attention to her, but on the other, there is a formality that also keeps a distance,” Lowe said (opens in new tab). "What this tells us is, Meghan wants to project an image of beauty, perfection and uniqueness, which serves to hide some insecurity. The degree of control seen in this handwriting reveals a woman of strong emotion who works to hold back the tide and only show what she wants others to see. She is comfortable in the spotlight because she has control over her image."

Here's an example of Kate's handwriting:

“Kate’s handwriting couldn’t be more opposite from Meghan’s. Not that it’s ‘better’ or ‘worse,’ just reflects a very different personality from her sister-in-law. Kate’s writing is flexible, forward-leaning, simplified, original, which indicates her strong need for a conflict-free environment and desire to create harmony wherever she is," Lowe explained (opens in new tab) to She Knows. "This ability to adapt, shown in loose writing rhythm and rightward trending writing, allows her to glide around difficulties and continue on to meet her objectives with a combination of sound, pragmatic common sense, which we see in the way the letters connect to each other and quick connections in the upper area of writing — a lively, intuitive way of reaching for new ideas."

And finally, here's an example of Diana's handwriting:

"Ah, Diana. Her handwriting is so recognizable," Lowe said. "The large, round, openness of it reveals a woman who needed love, affection, attention and approval in a very big way. Her rounded, soft writing has few angles and shows that, like Kate, an abiding need for harmony prompted her to do her best to create a serene backdrop for her life. The horizontally expanded writing indicates that freedom was a powerful imperative for her."

Head over to She Knows (opens in new tab) for even more analysis of Kate, Meghan, and Diana's handwriting and signatures.

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