Meghan Markle Had to Quickly Think on Her Feet After Being Given the Wrong Script for Her First Speaking Engagement as a Working Royal
Her background as an actress paid off for her in the potentially awkward moment.
![Meghan Markle at the 2018 Endeavor Fund Awards](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/vL8maYCfFj5nVwJfZLGdx3-415-80.jpg)
Thank goodness Meghan Markle walked into her career as a working royal with a background in acting, otherwise her first speech as a working royal could have gone off the rails.
Meghan Markle at the podium for the 2018 Endeavor Fund Awards
On the latest episode of Hello’s “A Right Royal Podcast,” Invictus Games Foundation director David Wiseman admitted he accidentally delivered the wrong script for Meghan’s first public address as Prince Harry’s fiancée, given back in 2018. The speech was given at The Endeavor Fund Awards (which Harry established “to support the ambitions of wounded, injured, and sick service personnel and veterans,” People reports) but Meghan struggled to start speaking because of a mistake.
“I messed up at work!” Wiseman said of the incident. “It was the first time she’d spoken in public as the [future] Duchess of Sussex. There weren’t many of us at The Royal Foundation, so everyone sort of mucked in for everything. I was writing the scripts, and there was a last-minute request for a change from her team—yeah, no problem, put it in. But she got the old version, and the new version was sent to her cohost, my mate [British Army veteran] Neil Heritage. And they were there on stage, and they had two different versions of the script.”
He added, “I don’t know if you remember, they were both sort of not arguing, but saying, ‘No, this is the version,’ and so there was a fluff of the lines in front of everybody on her first opening speech as the [future] Duchess of Sussex,” he said. (You can check out this video on X by Rebecca English of The Daily Mail, where Meghan and Heritage quietly laugh and can’t seem to locate the correct piece of paper on the podium to present the Celebrating Excellence Award, People reports.)
Wiseman joked that he “died a little bit inside” from his front row seat next to Harry, but was relieved as the two moved through the moment and the event received positive press coverage. Wiseman later sent Harry apologetic texts about the mishap, and Meghan hopped on the phone: “Meghan jumped on the text, ‘David, it’s M, honestly, really really, don’t worry about it,’” Wiseman said. “She was just so kind.”
People reports that “It was an unusual move for Meghan to present a prize that evening, as she was not yet officially in the royal family given her May wedding to Harry was still a few months away,” the outlet reports. “In contrast, Kate Middleton did not give her first speech until nearly a year after her royal wedding to Prince William in 2011.”
Stay In The Know
Marie Claire email subscribers get intel on fashion and beauty trends, hot-off-the-press celebrity news, and more. Sign up here.
Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.
-
Most Republicans Aren't Talking About Gender and Race. Here's Why Kamala Harris Should
The GOP knows that if this becomes a campaign about identity, they’re going to lose.
By Reshma Saujani Published
-
'Too Hot to Handle' Rule Breakers Katherine LaPrell and Charlie Jeer Are Sexy Pair to Watch This Season
The two models have had a rocky road toward coupling up, but could they be in it to win it?
By Quinci LeGardye Published
-
Ice Spice Hits Back at Claims Taylor Swift Became Friends With Her for "Clout"
She's insulted by people's assumptions.
By Iris Goldsztajn Published
-
Critics Claim Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Tried to "Upstage" Prince George
"He wants to steal the thunder with his Invictus Games announcement."
By Amy Mackelden Published
-
Meghan Markle Put “Her Own Neck On the Line” to Support Embattled Prince Harry at the ESPYs Earlier This Month
“She chose to be there for her husband.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Meghan Markle “Really Enjoyed Being Back In Front of the Camera” While Filming Her Forthcoming Netflix Cookery Show
“She was totally in her element.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
It’s Not In King Charles’ Nature to Upstage Daughter-in-Law Meghan Markle and Her Lifestyle Brand American Riviera Orchard with Competing Retail Products, Royal Commentator Says
Lest we forget the so-called “royal jam rivalries” earlier this year…
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Meghan Markle “Feels Very Much Under Siege” As She Prepares to Launch Her Lifestyle Brand American Riviera Orchard, Royal Author Says
“She thinks that anything and everything she does will be unfairly criticized.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Are “Drowning Out the Outside Noise” Surrounding Harry’s ESPY Award Backlash
The Sussexes are “very used to the criticism, given everything that’s gone on over the last few years.”
By Rachel Burchfield Published
-
Meghan Markle Is Reportedly "Very Pleased" With American Riviera Orchard's "Strong Start"
The brand is already thriving, says a source.
By Iris Goldsztajn Published
-
Meghan Markle Is Apparently Planning a Summer of “Relaxation and Enjoyment” with Her Family Before a “Busy Autumn Coming Up”
The agenda sounds fantastic, actually.
By Rachel Burchfield Published