Meghan Markle previously said that one of her habits distanced her from the rest of the royals, including Princess Kate – and Prince Harry has echoed her claims
Meghan Markle has admitted she struggled during her time in the royal family – and has said that one of her ‘American’ habits really set her apart from the rest of the Firm.
Meghan first met Prince Harry in 2016 and a short time later, she was introduced to his loved ones, including big brother Prince William and Princess Kate. But, according to Meghan, their first encounter was “surprising” for one specific reason. Speaking in episode two of the Harry & Meghan Netflix show, the Duchess described the first time she met her future brother-and-sister-in-law.
“When Will and Kate came over, and I met her for the first time, they came over for dinner,” she recalled. “I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot. I was a hugger. I’ve always been a hugger, I didn’t realise that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits,” she continued.
“I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside. There is a forward-facing way of being, and then you close the door and go, ‘You can relax now,’ but that formality carries over on both sides. And that was surprising to me.”
Her husband Prince Harry echoed her sentiments in his tell-all book Spare, in which he claimed his brother had also found Meghan’s hug uncomfortable. Harry wrote: “I introduced Meg, who leaned in and gave him a hug, which completely freaked him out. “He recoiled. Willy didn’t hug many strangers. Whereas Meg hugged most strangers. The moment was a classic collision of cultures, like flashlight-torch, which felt to me both funny and charming. Later, however, looking back, I wondered if it was more than that. Maybe Willy expected Meg to curtsy?”
The couple’s claims have been questioned by those closest to William and Kate, however. The royal family have been seen embracing one another on a number of occasions, and Kate has also been photographed hugging wellwishers while out and about on royal duties.
Following the release of the Netflix show, a close friend of the Princess told People: “Kate’s a big hugger. She is warm and friendly and greets everyone with a big hug and kiss. It comes naturally to her to be like that.” Similarly, Richard Jackson, Bishop of Hereford, gave a different impression of the royals during the BBC ‘s King Charles III: The Coronation Year documentary. He said: “I think what struck me particularly is how extraordinarily affectionate they are.”
