Meghan Markle was seemingly left flustered on her only joint royal engagement alongside the late Queen Elizabeth II when she did not appear to follow a time-honoured tradition. In June 2018, the Duchess of Sussex stepped out for her first royal engagement with the late Queen, where Meghan appeared to walk ahead of the monarch.
One of the most noticeable royal protocols is how everyone in the family, regardless of their rank, walks behind the monarch. It is a clear visual representation of the monarch’s position as the highest-ranking member, and this practice also shows respect for the monarch as the head of the royal family. Rediscovered footage from the event shows Meghan striding in front of the then-monarch and grabbing a bouquet of flowers while aides walked nearby.
When clips of the incident were recently shared on social media, users expressed alarm and distress that Meghan had seemingly broken one of the most important royal protocols so early in her career.
One person commented: “And she has the nerve to walk in front of the Queen. An absolute no no!”
“This is why she can’t act. She can’t remember protocol or lines”, said another.
And now lip reading expert Jacqui Press has revealed what was said between Meghan and the royal staff while she was walking in front of the Queen.
The clip begins with Meghan walking towards the crowd while holding out her hand and saying: “Thank you so much.”
Meghan continued to walk on before stopping, and the aide in the white outfit said to Meghan: “Do you want to come down?”
There is a pause while Meghan addresses the crowd, the aide then said to Meghan “this way please”, and gestures with her hand in the direction to walk ahead.
Then the lady with the green skirt walked along, and Meghan turned to her and said: “And these?”
The lady in the green skirt takes the flowers and gives them to Meghan, with the duchess saying “thank you”, then smiling and walking off.
Another video later emerged from the visit which showed Meghan and the late Queen sharing a moment of confusion about who should get in a car first.
Meghan is said to have first offered to let the late Queen get in the car before suggesting they switch round, asking: “What’s your preference?”.
After asking the late Queen where she’d like to sit, the 43-year-old, who now lives in the US with Harry and their two children, got into the car first so that her grandmother-in-law could sit behind the driver.
Speaking of Meghan’s move, etiquette expert William Hanson told MailOnline at the time: “The Queen always sits behind the driver.”
