Prince Harry has finally addressed the issue of Meghan Markle allegedly breaking royal protocol.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex met in the summer of 2016, and soon after, their relationship became public following a trip to Botswana.
Over the next two years, Meghan integrated into the Royal Family and “learned a lot” about British customs, including the royal anthem and wave.
In 2020, the couple decided to step back from their roles as working royals, relocating to Los Angeles in the US to raise their children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three.
Starting this new chapter, they participated in their notable Oprah interview and subsequently, the Duke released his bombshell memoir, Spare, and they filmed an intimate Netflix series that offered a never-before-seen glimpse into their lives.
During the docuseries, Harry refuted claims that Meghan had violated royal protocol upon joining the family.
Speaking about her reference to the #MeToo movement at a forum in 2018, she said: “I didn’t know that that would be taboo to talk about”, but explained that, “I knew that there was a protocol for how things were done.”
“There’s no class [where] some person goes, ‘Sit like this, cross your legs like this, use this fork, don’t do this, curtsy then, wear this kind of hat’,” Meghan said. “It doesn’t happen. So I needed to learn a lot.” She said that she was never taught how to do the ‘royal wave’ or sing the national anthem, but knew “you don’t wanna wave like an American” so taught herself.
The late Queen reportedly offered Meghan guidance from Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, but had her offer turned down.
A voiceover on the documentary heard from a reporter who suggested Meghan “broke royal protocol” with other actions, such as hugging a schoolgirl in Birmingham in 2018.
Harry said: “On top of that, with the press, there were a lot of invented protocols”. Meghan then described the immense pressure and public scrutiny as “baptism by fire”.