Meghan Markle's Handler "Demanded" a "Private Table" in 2017: Book

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex makes the keynote speech during the Opening Ceremony of the One Young World Summit 2022 at The Bridgewater Hall on September 05, 2022 in Manchester, England.

(Image credit: Chris Jackson/Getty)

A new book claims that a member of Meghan Markle's staff angrily requested a private table for her at NYC restaurant Le Coucou in 2017, while she looked on silently.

In upcoming memoir Your Table is Ready: Tales of a New York City Maitre D, former maître d' Michael Cecchi-Azzolina recalled the time the now-Duchess of Sussex visited the restaurant, and the unpleasant exchange he claims to have had with the Suits alum's handler.

Cecchi-Azzolina claims that Markle and her assistant arrived 20 minutes early for their reservation, and that her staffer brusquely asked for a table, saying, "it's for someone who is dating a prince," according to the Daily Mail.

The memoirist wrote, "I said, 'I still don't have a private table for you.'"

Apparently, the handler asked, "Are you aware my guest is dating Prince Harry and about to be a duchess? Don't you have a private area for us to wait?"

Cecchi-Azzolina continued, "My first impulse was to laugh. I could give two s**ts about Prince Harry's date, and by the attention the escort was drawing from the crowd at the bar, nor did anyone else."

He claimed that the duchess "didn't say a word" and that she acted "aloof."

At the time, Markle was dating Harry, whom she met in 2016. They were engaged later in 2017 and married in May 2018.

Cecchi-Azzolina also remembered dreading when Anna Wintour or Naomi Campbell would visit Le Coucou, because they apparently had many demands for their food and wouldn't hesitate to send it back if it didn't meet their specifications.

These reports come shortly after a New York restaurateur called out TV star James Corden for behaving rudely towards waitstaff. Corden has since apologized. All I can say is I hope all of these stories are at the very least exaggerated, because oof.

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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 British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. 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.