Meghan Markle’s ‘jarring’ first interaction with Kate Middleton

Meghan Markle didn’t often see eye-to-eye with the Princess of Wales, and back in 2022, the Duchess of Sussex shared how the two ladies had a “jarring” experience when they first crossed paths.

In the second episode of the Harry & Meghan docuseries, Meghan explained: “I met her [Kate] for the first time, I think we went for dinner. I remember I was in ripped jeans and barefoot. I was a hugger, I’ve always been a hugger, I didn’t realise that that was jarring for a lot of Brits.“

She continued: “I started to understand that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside, that there is a forward-facing way of being, and then you close the door, [sighs], I can relax now. But that formality carries over on both sides and that was surprising to me.”

Fans of suits

In his memoir, Spare, Prince Harry revealed that the Prince and Princess of Wales were big fans of Meghan’s hit show, Suits.

Harry wrote: “Their mouths fell open. They turned to each other. Then Willy turned to me and said: ‘[Expletive] off?’. I was baffled, until Willy and Kate explained that they were regular – nay, religious – viewers of ‘Suits’.“

Harry then joked in the text: “‘Great,’ I thought, laughing. I’ve been worrying about the wrong thing. All this time I’d thought Willy and Kate might not welcome Meg into the family, but now I had to worry about them hounding her for an autograph.”

Awkward moments

In Spare, Harry revealed that the relationship between Meghan and Kate was initially good, but that things started changing after the couple’s honeymoon.

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One awkward moment between the royal ladies saw Meghan attempt a moment of light-heartedness that didn’t land as intended.

Recalling the moment, Harry wrote: “Kate asked Meg what she thought of her first Trooping the Colour. And Meg joked: ‘Colourful’.” However, instead of eliciting a chuckle, a large silence instead emerged. “And a yawning silence threatened to swallow us all whole,” he penned.