Meghan Markle "Embarrassed" About First Meeting With Will & Kate

(Image credit: Getty)

published 9 December 2022

Although Meghan Markle often displays a great deal of confidence, one scene in hers and Prince Harry's new Netflix docuseries shows her sense of embarrassment when she first met Prince William and Princess Kate.

It sounds like she and Prince Harry were having the then-Cambridges over for dinner, and Meghan welcomed them in ripped jeans and barefoot, and went to embrace them in a big California-style hug.

She recalled, "I was a hugger, I've always been a hugger, I didn't realize that that was really jarring for a lot of Brits," the implication being that William and Catherine didn't exactly return her affectionate welcome.

Here, body language expert Darren Stanton deciphers what might have happened during that interaction.

"Meghan is extremely kinesthetic, which means that she is a very tactile person who likes to touch," Stanton tells Marie Claire on behalf of Betfair Casino (opens in new tab).

"However, this is clearly not the case with a lot of people in life.

"When she was speaking about meeting Prince William and Kate Middleton for the first time, she obviously felt it was appropriate to hug.

"It was clear from William and Kate’s response that they still had to get to know her a little before that could happen."

Stanton doesn't think William and Kate are stand-offish people, however. He says, "From previous analysis that I have done on Prince William and Kate, they also come across as kinesthetic people, but they can be guarded before deciding they want to get close and open up to someone, like most people."

Stanton adds, "As Meghan was talking about the moment, I noticed her eyebrows came up and her face dropped. This was a combination of the emotions of feeling embarrassed and shame. When she was repeating the memory about the meeting, her unconscious mind was fighting off the same feelings that she had back then."

Meeting the in-laws is never easy, but add to that the fact that your partner's relatives are royals and it must be very tricky to navigate indeed.

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Bustle and Shape. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.