Prince Harry detailed Prince William and Meghan Markle's encounter in his memoir Spare. It reportedly happened when they were about to leave for a shooting trip, and Kate Middleton was away with their three children.
Meghan Markle Reportedly Completely Freaked Out Prince William During Their First Encounter
Prince Harry shared several intimate encounters among the members of the royal family in his book. According to him, he introduced the Suits star to his big brother after she met his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth.
Prince Harry detailed how things turned between Markle and the Prince of Wales, including how the Duchess of Sussex caught his sibling surprised.
"Meg and I popped over one afternoon, shortly before he and I were due to leave on a shooting trip," Prince Harry wrote, Showbiz CheatSheet reported. "Walking up to apartment 1A, under the huge arch, through the courtyard, I felt more nervous than I had before the meeting with Granny."
He remembered ringing the doorbell, and after a while, his big brother answered the door.
"The door opened and there was my big brother, a bit dressed up. Nice trousers, nice shirt, open collar," Prince Harry wrote." 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 fun and charming."
Meghan Markle previously talked about hugging Brits in one episode of their Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan. The incident was when she met Kate Middleton for the first time.
"Even when Will and Kate came over, and I had met her for the first time, they came over for dinner," Meghan recalled, Elle reported.
"I remember I was in ripped jeans, and I was barefoot. Like, I was a hugger, I've always been a hugger. I didn't realize that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits. I guess I started to understand very quickly 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 and you are like, 'Oh, great. Okay, we can relax now.' But that formality carries over on both sides. And that was surprising to me."
Prince Harry Later Realized Prince William's Reaction After Meeting Meghan Markle Could Have Meant More
The royal author later claimed that the Duke of Cambridge's reaction after he introduced Markle to him might have meant more. He speculated that aside from the hug, which Prince William probably didn't expect, maybe the heir to the throne was expecting his then-girlfriend to curtsy to him.
"Later, however, looking back, I wondered if it was more than that," Prince Harry continued.
"Maybe Willy expected Meg to curtsy? It would've 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. When meeting my grandmother [Queen Elizabeth II], I'd made it clear — this is the queen. But when meeting my brother, it was just Willy, who loved Suits."
Prince Harry added that when his brother got over the hug, he exchanged a few warm words with Markle. Kate Middleton was not around during the meeting. The Princess of Wales was reportedly out with her and Prince William's three children — Prince George, 9, Princess Charlotte, 7, and Prince Louis, 4.
Prince Harry also credited the future king for the way he handled their conversations after the introduction. He admitted that he couldn't stop talking about Markle and his sibling "didn't tease, didn't tell me to shut up. On the contrary, he said what I'd hoped he'd say, even needed him to say. 'Happy for you, Harold.'"
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