Meghan Markle broke the same royal tradition Princess Diana commonly broke

Princess Diana was known as the People’s Princess and royal bride-to-be Meghan Markle isn’t taking a traditional approach, either. One of her most recent outings further prove that she and Prince Harry’s mother are alike in so many ways: Markle hugged a member of the public during her trip to Scotland.

Hugging isn’t something the royal family is known to do when out in public, but Princess Diana frequently broke this unspoken rule with the general public as well as AIDS patients.

In fact, Diana made it a point to connect with the people, no matter where they traveled. A great way to do that? Watch a soap opera.

“If I go out and about, whether it be to Birmingham, Liverpool or Dorset, I can always pick up on a TV program and you are on the same level,” she told Andrew Morton, the author of a biography of her life called Diana: Her True Story – In Her Own Words. “That I decided for myself. It works so well. Everybody watches it and I say, ‘Did you see so and so? Wasn’t it funny when this or that happened?’ You are not the princess and they the general public — it’s the same level.”

Another way to relate to others is a heartfelt hug. Apparently, after meeting with the charity Social Bite, a cafe that works to feed an employ the homeless, Markle embraced the cafe’s co-founder Alice Thompson.

The sweet moment was captured in a video:

As an American, Markle certainly isn’t the traditional choice as a partner for a member of the royal family. But the couple doesn’t seem to care about what “traditional” royal couples have done in the past.

“We’re a fantastic team. We know we are. We’re hope to over time try and have as much impact for all of the things that we care about as much as possible,” the prince said when addressing his and Markle’s different backgrounds in an interview with the BBC.

He also mentioned that his late mother would have loved Markle.

“They’d be thick as thieves, without question,” he said. “I think she would be over the moon, jumping up and down, you know, so excited for me. But, they probably would’ve been best friends with Meghan.”

Given how devoted Markle is to taking on her role in the royal family, she has more than shown that she’s prepared to make her own way with Prince Harry in the family. She’s leaving her acting career behind to pursue a future with her fiancé.

“I don’t see it as giving anything up. I see it is a new change, a new chapter,” she said in an interview with the BBC. “What’s been so exciting [transitioning] out of my career and into, as you said, the causes I can focus even more energy on, very early out of the gate, [is that you] have a voice that people listen to, a lot of responsibility.”

We have a feeling she’s going to make the royal family very proud and live out Princess Diana’s legacy with compassion, poise and grace.