Royal family 'pecking order': Why Meghan Markle stood behind Kate Middleton at Trouping the Colour

When Meghan Markle stood behind Kate Middleton on the Buckingham Palace on Saturday during the Trooping the Colour, it was a reflection of the understood royal family dynamic between the two duchesses.

People magazine spoke to Joe Little, the managing editor of Majesty magazine, who explained why the Duchess of Sussex stood behind the Duchess of Cambridge just weeks after being in the international spotlight during her royal wedding to Prince Harry.

"She was not as prominent as some people might have expected, but there's a pecking order," Little said. "There was no slight intended, but William being the older, more senior brother would go out [first] with his wife."

After all, Little explained, Meghan "was still in a good position" in the center of the balcony.

"She was central rather than the alternative of being in the front row and along the balcony to the left or right," which is where Kate was when she made her Trooping the Colour debut back in 2011.

An anonymous palace source contends that the decision to have Meghan stand in the back "would have come from her" and not a palace official or the birthday girl herself, Queen Elizabeth II.

"There's no one laying this out, telling her where to stand," the source told People. "And there were a lot of kids who everyone would want at the front."

Meghan also caused a stir during the celebration with her off-the-shoulder Carolina Herrera dress, which reportedly went against royal family protocol.