Dinner parties can be nerve-racking affairs, so a little advice from an expert entertainer can go a long way.

Yet Meghan Markle found herself the target of ridicule after sharing her latest hosting tips on Instagram, including that a successful hostess should do as much preparation as possible before her guests turn up.

The Duchess of Sussex also suggested leaving yourself a simple task to complete in the kitchen while guests mingle, allowing you to appear busy without missing out on the conversation.

Plenty of viewers seemed less than impressed by the advice, accusing the Duchess of offering obvious advice.

But Meghan is by no means the first royal or society hostess to offer pearls of wisdom on the fine art of entertaining.

Indeed, when it comes to throwing the perfect soirée, à la maison, royals and heiresses have been dispensing advice for decades.

So as Meghan is mocked for her hosting tips, which royal hostess should inspire your high-society entertainment?

From Wallis Simpson’s advice on soufflés to Pippa Middleton’s tips on turkey, if you want to host like the high-society set, here are some of their suggestions...

The Duchess, who has recently relocated back to the UK, had advice for her followers that was reassuringly modern: don’t make hosting a minefield.

Prepare in advance, keep it simple and don’t disappear into the kitchen for the entire evening away from guests.

While it may sound obvious, there is much to be said for Meghan’s more relaxed approach. Spending three hours preparing dinner can leave a hostess wiped out and withdrawn by the time her guests arrive.

Meghan shared on Instagram, via her As Ever brand account, a video in which she set out her latest recommendations – having previously released two Netflix series about her home cookery and lifestyle products.

The post was accompanied by the caption: 'Meghan's Hosting Notes. Have as much prepped as possible before guests arrive, then save one simple task for the end.

'Something you can finish in the kitchen while everyone settles in. A little preparation goes a long way toward making hosting feel effortless.'

Pippa Middleton had a moment of fame when she published Celebrate – her guide to entertaining – in 2012.

One highlight was the observation that turkey at Christmas is a good choice for feeding a large number of people, which doesn’t exactly feel like an insider tip.

But her tricks for creating a scary scene at Halloween are the perfect solution for those spooky mind blanks when the witching hour calls.

Pippa shares tips on creating blood-curdling decorations using an empty glass bottle. She recommends putting a white candle in the neck then lighting a separate red candle and letting the red wax drip down the white candle and the bottle.

She also suggests creating witchy labels by staining white paper with a tea bag, burning the edges and writing an evocative description – witches' wine, bats' blood, snakes' syrup.

Her stained-glass bats – filling a cut-out bat template with coloured tissue paper for some window art – is another good idea. It would be hard to dream up on the spot, but easy to replicate.

Pippa’s book is packed with practical seasonal advice on everything from menus to decorations – all those handy hints we think we know but can’t always recall at the right moment.

Fergie maintains that when greeting people, one must be in the mood, or at least have the ability to muster a game face for the occasion.

Speaking alongside co-host Sarah Thomson on their podcast – Tea Talks with the Duchess and Sarah – in 2023, she shared: ‘I always say to my girls, when you’re out on the public stage, smile.

'If you don’t want to be polite, don’t go out on the public stage, because no one wants to see a grumpy princess.’

Sarah Ferguson later said: ‘I think the most important thing is you’ve got to get your game on.’ 

The 66-year-old also has advice that could prove genuinely useful at a sticky dinner party: how to retreat from a dry conversation.

On her podcast, Fergie described the art of escaping unwanted chats, particularly with someone who doesn’t know when to stop talking.

Her advice was to find a reason to move across the room or redirect an awkward question to someone sitting nearby.

At last – a royal rule we can all abide by.

Princess Margaret belonged to the golden age of entertaining.

For her generation, a good party was not about whether the hostess had remembered to chop the onions and garlic. It was about the guests and the glamour – and perhaps a little bit of mischief.

The late Queen’s sister was famed for her legendary parties, where actors such as Peter O’Toole rubbed shoulders with rock star Mick Jagger and film star-turned-royal Princess Grace of Monaco.

Her lesson? A good party needs atmosphere. Nobody left one of Margaret’s soirées wittering about the canapés.

And then there was Wallis Simpson. If Meghan says simplicity is the way forward, Wallis was all about controlling every conceivable detail.

The Duchess of Windsor was a famously fastidious hostess, obsessing over guest lists, seating arrangements, menus and table decorations.

Simpson became a world-famous hostess, often jetting around the world entertaining high-profile figures after her husband Edward VIII left royal life. 

In 1949, the American socialite wrote a witty guide in Vogue magazine for hosting the perfect dinner party.

Writing at a time when the Soviet threat to build the atomic bomb loomed large, Wallis wrote that while peace could not be made over dinner, a ‘truly elegant’ dining table – ‘one of the finest flowerings of the good society' – could reflect the morale and success of individual countries.

Hosting was practically a military operation. But there was method in the madness.

Wallis’s attention to detail helped ensure a smooth-running affair where the food was plentiful, nobody felt excluded and the evening never ran out of steam.

In other words, dinner was about far more than just the food. It was about managing the social dynamics around the table.

But perhaps the real secret to a successful soirée is simpler still: making sure that, when the last guest leaves, everyone longs for their next invitation.