‘Spare’: QEII asked Meghan Markle about Donald Trump when they first met

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s story about when Meghan first met Queen Elizabeth II hasn’t changed since we first heard it, although new details keep getting added. In Harry’s memoir, he also takes a moment to describe the scene and everything around it. We’ve known that Meghan didn’t actually know she was going to meet QEII that day, that she and Harry happened to be in Windsor and they were going to Royal Lodge (Prince Andrew’s home) to have lunch with Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank. QEII unexpectedly turned up at Royal Lodge, so Meghan only had a few minutes to prepare, and Sarah Ferguson was the one to teach Meghan how to curtsy. Here are more details from Spare:

Prince Harry and Meghan, still in the early stages of their courtship, were heading to lunch at Royal Lodge when Harry, 38, “got word” that his grandmother had stopped by Royal Lodge “on her way from church back to the castle.” Harry had picked that destination for Meghan to meet Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie‘s mother, Sarah Ferguson, who resides on the property.

Initially, Meghan was excited about the opportunity to chat with the queen, telling her husband: “Fun! I love grandmas.” Harry quickly informed her that the encounter wouldn’t be an ordinary “meet the family” moment. “You’re about to meet the queen,” Harry told the former Suits star before asking if she knew how to curtsy. When Meghan “shook her head,” Ferguson, 63, gave her a quick tutorial upon their arrival at Royal Lodge. The Duchess of York “demonstrated once” and Meghan “imitated her.” Harry noted that they didn’t have time to practice more since they “couldn’t keep Granny waiting.”

When they entered the ​manor, Harry saw his “granny” was wearing a “brightly colored dress and matching hat,” which was vastly different from his wife’s casual getup. “I could see Meg regretting her jeans and black sweater,” the BetterUp CIO wrote in his book. “I was also regretting my shabby trousers. We didn’t plan, I wanted to tell granny, but she was busy asking about Meg’s visit.”

“We entered the large front sitting room and there she was. Granny. The monarch. Queen Elizabeth II. Standing in the middle of the room. She turned slightly. Meg went straight to her and dropped a deep, flawless curtsy.”

“It was all very pleasant,” the Duke of Sussex recalled of Meghan’s first meeting with Queen Elizabeth II in October 2016. Her Majesty wanted to ask the California native about her opinion of former President Donald Trump’s first political campaign, Harry wrote in his 2023 memoir, Spare. Meghan, for her part, thought getting into a political conversation was a “no-win game,” and seemingly changed the subject to talk about her residence in Canada. “Granny looked pleased. ‘Commonwealth. Good, fine,’” Harry writes, before noting that Elizabeth revealed her departure plans 20 minutes later.

As the queen took the Duke of York’s arm to leave the room, she apparently turned back to say goodbye to her guests. “She locked eyes with Meg, gave a wave and a warm smile. ‘Bye,’” Harry wrote.

Following the meeting, Harry penned that “everyone complimented Meg on her curtsy, ”praising how it was “so good” and “so deep” despite not having an advanced tutorial prior.

[From Us Weekly]

I would guess that QEII was very curious about meeting Meghan, and maybe QEII even stopped by Royal Lodge specifically because she was trying to get a glimpse of (what sounds like) her favorite grandson’s girlfriend. While the Windsors seem to loathe Americans, they seem somewhat curious about Americans too, and it was probably already big news within the family that Harry was dating a Black American actress. Liz wanted to see Meghan for herself. It was smart of Meghan to not get roped into a political conversation too.

Anyway, while I think Liz could have and should have done more to help and protect Harry and Meghan, it’s always been abundantly clear that they both adored her. So it is what it is. It’s especially crazy because they’ve always gone out of their way to be protective of QEII and then they’re accused of trashing her anyway.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images, Netflix.

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66 Responses to “‘Spare’: QEII asked Meghan Markle about Donald Trump when they first met”

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  1. C says:

    Well doesn’t this just sum the Queen up? She was curious but probably quite pleased that Meghan knew it was an unpleasant subject and switched to a different topic to avoid it, which is exactly what she herself did all the time even when she shouldn’t have: ignored unpleasant reality, lol.

  2. JMoney says:

    QEII was testing Meghan to see if she can be “neutral” when it came to politics and to her credit she was while in the RF. Had Meghan been candid it would not have gone down well.

  3. Laura D says:

    Of course she asked about Donald Trump. I’ve always believed that she was so “twinkly” around Trump because of the Epstein scandal. TQ knew her “favourite” son was up to his eyeballs in trouble and was looking to see how she could best curry favour with the “Overseas” president to try and save Andrew’s scrawny neck.

  4. Hummingbird says:

    Perhaps it was a test to see if M could be diplomatic. Big green tick.

    • TOM says:

      It all might simply be old age – less sharp, less aware but not senile by any means, just old and tired.

  5. Emmi says:

    I laughed so hard at that part. Because in ONE episode, the entire York family (minus Beatrice) was put in a nutshell. Fergie is described as nice and helpful and while she certainly has questionable views etc, it’s clear Harry didn’t want to get into that. He loves Eugenie, we know this. The Queen is like any grandma, she wants to see the girlfriend. And then the only time (I think) he mentions Andrew, he makes it clear that the man is not worthy of a mention beyond “Meghan thought he was the Queen’s assistant”. LMAO

    • L84Tea says:

      It honestly makes me wonder if Eugenie thinks just as low of him (her father). It’s got to be a very uncomfortable situation to be in when you get along great with your cousin but think her dad is scum–which he is.

  6. Naomi says:

    It’s so obvious that Andrew was QEII’s favorite because of the way she treated him– rides to church during the Epstein trial, shelling out millions to settle the lawsuit, etc. But there’s nothing publicly at least that ever signaled Harry was QEII’s favorite grandchild. The only thing I can think of is the day she spent with Meghan following the wedding– but even then, she didn’t do anything afterwards to protect her from the bad/BS press about not wearing a hat etc.

    So… I guess what I’m asking is, what is the sourcing of Harry being her favorite? How far does it go back? The difference between how she (publicly) treated her two favorites– Andrew & Harry–is so stark.

    • Jais says:

      Definitely she treats Andrew very well, better than he ever deserves that’s for sure. As for Harry being his favorite grandchild? The press say that sometimes but who actually knows? I’m assuming she’s also close with the York sisters. Who’s to say they’re not her favorites as they’re Andrew’s daughters. Idk but the better question would be what is the difference in how she treats Harry and William. Possibly she’s harder on William bc he’s the heir and that affects their relationship. There does seem to be more rapport between her and Harry than her and William just judging by pictures. Although, now I’m wondering who does William actually have rapport with? Mates and footballers?

    • L84Tea says:

      I remember reading somewhere that Peter was her favorite grandchild, so honestly, who knows.

      • Rnot says:

        Peter was her first grandchild followed by Zara, then William, Harry, Beatrice, Eugenie, Louise and James. Peter is 45 and James is 15. He was the first and only grandchild for a few years. He was also born far enough down the line of succession that she could just be granny and didn’t have to worry about him in an institutional sense.

    • Sunday says:

      I agree that her actions towards Harry are markedly different than those for Andrew and don’t indicate any preferential treatment at all, and his account of their interactions and relationship in Spare don’t really show that either. She smiled at him during that military ceremony, she (reluctantly? shadily?) gave him permission to marry Meghan, she let him keep his beard for his wedding, and that’s about it?

      To me this whole “Harry is/was the Queen’s favorite!” sounds like whining from a certain jealous older brother who obviously has a much different relationship with the entire institution because he’s the heir. They let Harry go to an active war zone because he’s the spare, not because he’s the favorite. Ditto for the beard, ditto for everything else. What he views as preferential treatment towards Harry in my estimation mostly boils down to nobody (including the queen) really caring what Harry did because he was the spare and because his failures or missteps could be used for their own advantage to prop themselves up anyway, so naturally he was given much more freedom.

    • windyriver says:

      Harry has said, “she [TQ] tells me things she can’t tell anyone else” (interview with Hoda at Invictus), which definitely implies he considered their relationship to be quite close, and she knew she could trust him, regardless of whether or not that makes him the “favorite” over other cousins like Peter, Eugenie, etc. I could see the two sharing an impish sense of humor – was it the Colbert appearance where Harry said her humor was one of the main things he’ll remember about her? I’ll bet she had a different relationship with Will, who often seems too stiff to have much of a sense of humor, or else whose idea of humor is the type where it’s fun to make snide digs that belittle others, like his brother. Harry certainly seems to have considered TQ (and Philip) important parts of his life, and stayed in touch even after leaving – remember the discussion revealed on Corden’s show about the waffle iron for Archie – while I can’t immediately remember any evidence of Will feeling a close connection.

    • CourtneyB says:

      Not necessarily proof but… When Harry was launching invictus, the queen appeared in the Obama video with him. It was charming. ‘Boom. Really.’ She’d never done that for anyone else and nothing like it at all except the bond thing in 2012 and then paddington. My mouth dropped when I saw it.

  7. Brassy Rebel says:

    Security would have had to remove me for foul language in front of the queen. My respect to Meghan for keeping her cool.

    • lucy2 says:

      Right? I can’t contain myself when someone asks about him. Blech.

      Sounds like “Granny” was testing her, and also just happened to “drop by” to meet her. Glad they all got along, a pity the rest of the family are such vipers.

  8. lanne says:

    They had a jewel in Meghan. It really is about race and jealousy for them. Race because she didn’t “belong,” no matter how good she was at the actual job and jealousy because she was better at the job than many of them. That’s a smart answer–curve the subject away from the question–I’m sure the Queen was using that question as a test for Meghan and she passed with flying colors. Another American might have spoken at length about her distaste for Trump, even talking about the historical reasons for his rise, and the danger it represented (ahem–what I would have done). The queen could have then said, “lovely young lady, but she’ll never understand what it means to be a part of this family.” And that would be a legit response. Royals can’t given out openly political opinions.

    Smart response on Meghan’s part. Not that it did her any good.

  9. C-Shell says:

    A fun and sweet story, actually. My favorite part was Meghan asking Harry after QEII walked out with Andrew, who had sat next to his mother during the visit, holding her handbag, (paraphrasing) “tell me about the Queen’s assistant?” “Who?” “The man who just walked her out.” And Harry realizing that Meghan was really clueless about the RF.

  10. ThatsNotOkay says:

    She probably planned to show up at Andrew’s to go for a walk with him, and Harry and Meghan happened to be heading there. Two birds, one stone.

    FYI, the curtsy Meghan did on SUITS is not a proper curtsy for the Queen. So, yeah, she needed guidance and, yeah, Harry did not prepare his soon-to-be wife for anything she faced.

  11. Abby says:

    I loved this scene. It was so revealing, and funny. Meg is a pro, even when being thrown into the deep end.

    In the documentary Meghan demonstrated how she curtseyed, so it was funny to put this passage together with them talking about it there. I love how she thought Andrew was an assistant.

    • lanne says:

      a lot of people (including bloggers Tom and Lorenzo, who make me sad because of their lack of empathy for Meghan), side-eye Meghan’s claim that she didn’t google the royal family. They use this as “proof” Meghan is a liar, because who wouldn’t google the royal family?

      Maybe someone who realized that she can’t really learn anything other than who’s who, and how people feel about the royals through google. (I would have been googling the shit out of them). Maybe someone who knows she has a high profile boyfriend and wants to learn about his family from him–there will be a lot of garbage on line based on how the writer feels about the RF. She had a good reason for not googling the RF. Even so, there’s so much arcana about the RF that there’s no way she could have learned their mores and values and methods through google. I can imagine her thinking, google isn’t going to tell me the things I really need to know, and it might prejudice me against certain things. I’ll let Harry and my own 2 eyes tell me what I need to know.

      And Harry seemed charmed by the fact that she knew so little. It could have been her way of proving to him that she didn’t already have a princess crown on her head, and she loved him for who he was, not his family. It would have taken so very little to rouse his suspicions. It was a fine line for both of them to walk at the start of their relationship.

      • dee(2) says:

        This is an argument I never get, because if you didn’t know Meghan and were meeting her would you trust anything from a Google search? Meghan knows/knew that information presented would be very biased for or against, I’m sure as an actress she had experienced absolute a-holes that are loved by the press and thanks to good PR. As she said she wanted to see how Harry presented himself, not what the world wanted you to see. The fact that people can’t or won’t see that is odd to me. And honestly it speaks more to them that the first thing they would do when meeting someone is to Google to see what everyone else thinks of them rather than getting to know them for themselves.

      • Brassy Rebel says:

        Also how much detail about royal protocols and individual family members could you get on Google. You would have to spend literally HOURS or even DAYS researching on Google. I mean, Google is fine for getting definitions and superficial knowledge of a subject but it’s not a research library.

      • windyriver says:

        Yes, Meghan talked specifically about this in the documentary. Before she agreed to meet Harry, she asked for access to his Instagram feed. “So that’s the thing, when people say, ‘Did you Google him?’ – no, but I, that’s your homework, let me see what they’re about in their feed. Not what someone else says about them, what they are putting out about themselves. That to me was the best barometer.”

        Sounds like she’s judging from past experience. Maybe too she wasn’t overly impressed with the idea that Harry was a royal. For someone in her position, that’s not hard to imagine. She already had other high profile friends – like Serena – so was already moving in a more rarefied environment. Who knows who else might have made overtures to her along the way we haven’t heard about.

        Since she was friends with Eugenie, I am curious about her not knowing who Andrew was. Or, maybe she just never saw a picture of him? From his apparently obsequious behavior around TQ at their get together at Royal Lodge, not surprising, and pretty funny, that Meghan thought he was an assistant!

  12. goofpuff says:

    Meghan thinking Andrew was the Queen’s assistant was just perfect.

  13. Barbara says:

    I always think it’s amusing that Meghan’s curtsies to the queen were so much better and more deferential than Bones’.

  14. Emily_C says:

    Harry loved his granny and attempts to paint her in the best possible light. But the truth simply doesn’t make her look good. The fact that her grandson’s girlfriend had to curtsy to her says it all.

    • Jan says:

      Men don’t curtesy, just nod or bow their heads.
      All the women in the family had to curtesy to the Queen on their first meeting of the day, including Anne.

      • Truthiness says:

        To me, Anne’s curtsies to QEll were profoundly executed despite it being her mother. Everyone else does this stylized dip while Anne’s somehow conveyed immense respect to a deeply beloved sovereign. When Anne got her mother’s casket to London where it would lie in state, she took leave in a curtsy that spoke volumes. Maybe it’s because she’s usually all brass tacks and non-emotional every other moment we see her.

  15. Fortuona says:

    Don’t think the Queen hated Americans as she spent a lot of time in Little Big Horn where Porchy’s wife was from – her brother was a Senator for 30 years

  16. Sarah Nguyen says:

    I really do wonder why Meghan never did any research. She didn’t know who Andrew was but she was friends with his daughter Eugenie. Did Meghan ever wonder why other women did not want to marry Harry? I would have wondered why no one really wanted the gig and what it was about Harry’s family that put people off. I also don’t want to marry into a family of hierarchy where I curtsy to anyone.

    • Polo says:

      Just because you’re friends with someone doesn’t mean you know their parents. I haven’t met some of my close friends parents either. At that point they were just friends running in the same circles.
      Meghan’s said multiple times she did t want to cloud her mind by googling. She wouldn’t how found much besides the unhingedness of the tabloids considering how the tabloids lie and make up stories about the royals.

    • Jan says:

      Who said that women didn’t want to marry Harry? Have any of his girlfriends ever said he asked them to marry him? No.
      Ingrid Seward friend of Cressida’s mom was begging Harry to marry Cressida.

      • lanne says:

        Cressida’s mom and Ingrid Seward wanted Harry to marry cressida. I don’t think that Cressida wanted to marry Harry. Harry said in Spare that he knew they weren’t right for each other. On top of that, she didn’t want the role, no matter what her mom or that Ingrid batshit crazyflakes wanted.

    • Emmi says:

      I think at this point it truly looks naive at best. I get why she didn’t at first. But once you realize this will be a long-term relationship and there are rules rules rules regarding your boyfriend’s family, wouldn’t you read up? I would. If only to feel prepared. A friend dated a guy from a completely different cultural background once and she immediately knew she’d need to study and ask many many questions. He only gradually realized the potential for “disaster” because both sides were so familiar to him. She asked friends with similar background to his and while his family in the end didn’t expect her to know all of this and was very warm and welcoming, she said she just felt more secure knowing she probably wouldn’t f*ck up badly.

      So this always stuck me as odd, especially because Meghan is such a nerd – in the best sense. And always prepared it seems. I don’t know.

      • equality says:

        Where do you read up? In the tabloids that made up protocol for Meghan that none of the others followed?

      • Okay says:

        And where exactly was she meant to find this information in Google? The past few years have shown us that there isn’t a consensus on anything regarding this family and that the rules change depending on the person being spoken about so how was Google going to help. You use your friend as an example, but she simply amongst people of a different culture or in one of the rarest social spaces on the planet?

        It’s very easy to sit behind a screen and say this and that in retrospect. But how would you have sought that information? Where? Celebitchy? Reddit? Comments from people who have never been in the same rooms as royals or anywhere near their circle? Be for real.

      • Petra (Brazen Archetyped Phenomenal Woman) says:

        @Emmi, Could it be she prefer to the get the information from Prince Harry?

        Duchess Meghan did not do the internet research that some people would do. Does this means she deserves all the meanness and evilness of the last 6 years?

        Maybe we need to take a break from second guessing Duchess Meghan decisions. It’s starting to read as victim blaming.

    • Over it says:

      That’s not difficult at all. She is friends with Eugene but that doesn’t mean that she had seen pictures of Andrew. It’s not like anyone introduced him to her . She was talking to the queen. Ur would have been up to someone in the room from that family to say who Andrew was. And I believe Meghan didn’t know him. You Know why? Because before the whole J.E thing and then Meghan dating then marrying Harry , I didn’t know what Andrew or Edward or sophie looked like . I knew Andrew existed but no idea what he looked like and I seriously not kidding here had no idea that the queen had a son called edward or that he is married and has two children and I am from the commonwealth.

      • Jais says:

        Same @overit. Didn’t know much about the RF before Meghan. Literally didn’t know who Andrew Edward or Sophie were. I knew who Fergie was but wouldn’t have recognized Andrew or known anything about him. Vaguely remember Britney Spears once saying William was cute or something? Saw pictures of Kate’s wedding dress and knew that it was a a big deal that William was marrying a commoner which seemed like a cute story, not knowing all I know now about the stalking and dating years. Like Meghan, I also would have chosen not to google Harry or his family. I’ve always believed Meghan about that and when people roll their eyes and say they don’t believe it, I’m always like that says more about you than her, as in that person would have googled. Not that there’s anything wrong with people who would’ve googled. Some people would’ve and some wouldn’t. I don’t think it makes her naive either. Sorry, it’s not her fault that entering into that family is like dodging land mines. If expecting people not be evil assholes makes someone naive then oh well. Meghan could have researched and prepared her heart out and they still would’ve gaslit her and treated her like shit.

      • Sunday says:

        Exactly, and being friends with Eugenie probably gave her somewhat of a misguided view on what the rest of the family was like. Eugenie seems to be the most grounded, the most fun, the most “normal”, so naturally if Meghan had already met her she would think that’s what they all were like. I mean, look at Harry! How was she to know that they are the two outliers in their family of cold fish?

        Even if she knew vaguely who Andrew was from the press, seeing someone in person when it’s a middle aged white guy in a room full of middle aged white guys all wearing black suits, and this one is holding the queen’s purse and not saying much of anything and not interacting with Eugenie or Fergie like one might expect a father or ex to do, in the context of the situation it’s perfectly believable that Meghan wouldn’t realize that was Andrew.

        And I’m sorry, this whole “people didn’t want to marry Harry” bit is complete nonsense. After the queen he was the most popular royal for years and the most eligible bachelor in Britain. The person nobody wanted to marry was Will – turned down by all his top choices, stringing Kate along for a decade until he realized he couldn’t do any better – so the world at large knowing Harry wasn’t a catch and Meghan being wrong for not researching that beforehand is just patently false.

      • SomeChick says:

        I couldn’t have picked most of them out of a lineup until Meghan came along. I’ve always liked Harry, and I do remember the Diana story unfolding in realtime, and how impressed I was with her charity work. and I empathized with what a horrible tragedy so much of her life was.

        and ofc I recognized Fergie. but I couldn’t tell the york sisters apart, for some reason thought Anne was older than Charles and had gotten screwed out of the crown by being female (maybe even then I could sense she’d be better at the job).

        I hadn’t the first idea about the rest of them. I didn’t even recognize Philip. now when I see those balcony photos I recognize nearly all of them. but in 2017 I couldn’t have told you who Andrew was or what he looked like. (now I know all too well, ugh!)

        I think Meghan thought they would welcome her, help her, and show her the ropes. and they turned out to be a nest of vipers. nothing could have possibly prepared her for that.

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      I find this ongoing discussion amusing. I don’t use Google. I detest Google. Why? Because when it first came out and I wanted to download something like Adobe you had to unclick the google stuff. I would forget and end up with it on my computer. I would uninstall and start over. IT DROVE ME CRAZY. If I had wanted it, I’d get it downloaded, but it really started to p!ss me off that I had it shoved down my throat. I use Norton, so that’s the search bar I use and have used forever. I’ve never used Google and never will.

      There was a lot of disinformation floating around because of the 2016 elections. Why in the world would I search on the internet to find out something about someone? Seriously, I wouldn’t be able to believe what was written. I think asking to see his social media was a much better choice. It gave her a starting point so that she had an idea if she even wanted to meet him.

      Maybe I’m getting too old to understand this argument. It wouldn’t occur to me to look to the internet for something like this. I would ask friends and trust my own opinion.

    • Ace says:

      After she mentioned meeting Harry the summer she decided to follow her friend’s advice and “leave a little room for magic” it makes sense ifshe just went with that. It definitely seemed like they were both instantly charmed by the other and Meghan might have liked the idea of going with the flow and, as she said, she trusted him and wanted to hear things about his life from him.

      But I also find the idea of googling friends or romantic interests incredibly intrusive, and that’s just when they are normal people, Harry being born into a position where he had no control about being in the public eye makes it even worse.

    • Annalise says:

      @SarahNguyen – how do you know Harry had been turned down for marriage?? Perhaps he hadn’t asked anyone until he met Meghan. He certainly has never spoken of popping the question to any of his exes, and neither have his exes suggested any such thing.
      What kind of assumption IS that, anyway?? That Harry was just continually rejected until Meghan took pity on him? I think you have him mixed up with William…….

  17. NG_76 says:

    I feel like a lot of the issues are difference in culture and expectations. I think that Meghan should’ve been given lessons on what expectations would’ve been put on her. Whether you support the monarchy or not, there are expectations and protocols that Harry should have taught her before going to meet the family.

    • Kp says:

      Yeah I now see why they thought issues within the family had more to do with her being American and jealousy. I feel like those were more prominent than the racism.. though that played a role.

      On the other hand racism and Xenophobia were/are the bigger issues from the British media.

    • Petra (Brazen Archetyped Phenomenal Woman) says:

      @Ng_76, Prince Harry did give Duchess Meghan the legitimate protocols. Prince Harry didn’t know the made up ones specific to Duchess Meghan.

      • lanne says:

        Harry was walking a fine line too. Had he said to Meghan, “in my family we do this, but not this, that but not that, this on Tuesdays, that on Wednesdays, and don’t forget about Friday mornings! We eat breakfast facing east!” His girlfriend might have peaced out like so many before, thinking “this is a cult, not a family.”

        And he had no idea that so many fake “protocols” would be made up for Meghan that wouldn’t apply to anyone else.

        The criticism comes down to people saying, “why didn’t Meghan do what I would have done?” Granted, I would have been a-googling from day 1. No matter. What I can’t countenance, and again, I’m calling out Tom and Lorenzo for this:

        “Meghan didn’t do what I would have done, so therefore she’s a liar and deserves everything that happened to her.”

        That’s the implication, whether they openly intend it or not. Criticizing Meghan for googling or not googling while NEGLECTING TO SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE ROYAL FAMILY openly excuses everything the royal family did and didn’t do regarding Meghan. Nothing about Meghan’s choice of using a search engine at a given time or not warrants the abuse that she faced. No amount of googling would have prevented her from being treated the way she was treated. It truly is the same as the people who ask “what were you wearing” of a SA victim. It suggests that had Meghan behaved differently, than the torrential abuse she face wouldn’t have happened. Implication being, the abuse that no one would have found acceptable or appropriate if they were faced with it, is to some degree her fault. It. is.not.

      • Petra (Brazen Archetyped Phenomenal Woman) says:

        💯 @lanne. People are using not googling in a blame the victim way for the abuses Meghan got and still getting.

      • Jais says:

        I mean there are shades of Meghan didn’t do her due diligence in researching the RF which implies she is partly at fault. Or that she was naive so again partly at fault. The googling debate seems to play into that. And I agree that Harry did not anticipate the made-up protocols so how could one prepare for that level of fuckery.

  18. NMB says:

    The whole curtsey thing is just gross to me. Like, I get it’s a sign of respect, and I’d curtsey too if I were in front of the Queen, but the way it’s DEMANDED as if we disgusting commoners owe it to her? Yuck. Also, I don’t get why people defend the Queen when it comes to Harry and Meg. SHE was the matriarch of this dysfunctional family. SHE allowed Charles and Will etc. to trash Meg. She could have easily put a stop to it, but she didn’t. She’s awful and just as bad as the rest of them. I put the most blame on her, frankly.

  19. Diana says:

    I’m a huge fan of Harry and Meghan, and I’ve really respected what he’s said in his interviews. Toward the end of the book, however, I was feeling disappointed in how he kept giving his family a pass on their behavior. Regarding the queen, he didn’t complain to her about the roadblocks AK47 was throwing up about the tiara/hair dress rehearsal because he didn’t know whose side the queen would pick. Secondly, when he went with Willy to support him in Willy’s complaint to Pa about being fed to the press, and Pa whined about needing his own person like Granny had AK47, it sounds like they all thought the Queen was happy to have AK47 planting stories in the press. So did the Queen know and support, or was she in the dark? Why was the Queen fine with having this evil troll behave so badly, and wouldn’t stop her antics? Why was Harry fine with the Queen, when Granny let all of this happen? Also, why did Harry go with Willy to Pa’s? It sounded like this was shortly after Incandescent Willy had knocked him down in NottCott, so why would you support someone who was feeding you and your wife to the wolves, when that someone was complaining about someone else doing the same thing?

    • Jennifer says:

      What are you going to be able to do about the Queen? She’s the Queen, and apparently all the insects actually rule the country. If the Queen’s on your side, it doesn’t seem like she manages to do much, and if she’s not….what are you going to be able to do about it?

      Also he’d probably really get it in the press if he slagged on the Queen, ever.

  20. JustMe says:

    It still astonishes me that in 2023 people need to bow down in front of anyone..what would happen if you didn’t? You’d be asked to leave, arrested….?? I’m Canadian but I would not want to bow to anyone because they were “royalty” by birth and not because they are more worthy or skilled? Boggles the mind

    • Mrs.Krabapple says:

      I agree. And the worship of the late queen also boggles my mind. She was (during my lifetime) just an old lady. Sure, you should be polite to old ladies and she was also the head of state. But the way the British go overboard in revering a woman who, literally, did and said nothing of substance her entire life, is truly baffling. I never understood why she was treated like a sacred cow, but maybe that’s because I’m an American.

    • Jennifer says:

      Perhaps a giant anvil drops from the sky onto your head MAKING you curtsy 😛

  21. DeltaJuliet says:

    Honestly if most of the people involved could have just acted like kind humans instead of snobbish assholes, a lot of these problems could have been avoided. Surprisingly, it’s not THAT hard to not be a d!ck.

  22. Rnot says:

    The story about the visit to Royal Lodge is bizarre on so many levels. The bit about not recognizing Andrew is funny but even weirder given that they were in his home. No one had introduced Meghan to the host more than 20 minutes after she’d arrived? This wasn’t a crowded event.

    • Julia K says:

      I also wondered why she was in Andrews home and hadn’t been introduced, then I thought, the Queen takes precedence over every one in the room, no introduction could be made until the Q. left the room. She may be granny, but protocol is protocol.

  23. JCallas says:

    QEZ was very old. I think Charles, William, and the courtiers were running the show . Harry has mementos of his grandparents on his wall but nothing of his dad and brother.

  24. j.ferber says:

    Ha ha.

  25. matthew says:

    I will never not love that screenshot of Meghan doing an exaggerated curtsey. Really funny.