Meghan Markle has admitted that she didn’t realise how “jarring” British people find hugging strangers.
The Duchess of Sussex confessed this during the Netflix docuseries Harry and Meghan, where she discussed first meeting with the Royal Family.
She recalled: “When Will and Kate came over and I was meeting her for the first time I remember, I was in ripped jeans, I was barefoot.
“Like I was a hugger, I have always been a hugger. I didn’t realise that is really jarring for a lot of Brits. I started to understand that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside”.
Prince Harry also shared his memories of the same moment in his memoir Spare. He described how his brother Prince William was taken aback by Meghan’s physical contact when they first met at Frogmore Cottage.
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According to Harry, William was a “bit dressed up” in smart clothing.
He explained: “I introduced Meg, who leaned in and gave him a hug, which completely freaked him out. He recoiled.”
The Duke of Sussex also said his brother wouldn’t usually hug folks he didn’t know, but for Meghan it was normal.
He added: “Maybe Willy expected Meg to curtsy? It would have been protocol when meeting a member of the Royal Family for the first time, but she didn’t know and I didn’t tell her.”
Meghan had previous instances where she wasn’t sure how to act, including when Harry had to remind her to curtsy for the Queen when they first met at Windsor Castle in 2016.
Meghan remembered: “We were in the car, driving and Harry’s like, ‘You know how to curtsy, right?’. And I just thought it was a joke.”
Harry said: “How do you explain that to people? How do you explain that you bow to your grandmother? And that you would need to curtsy, especially to an American. That’s weird.”
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