Prince Harry Reveals the Awkward Detail He Regretted About Meghan Markle’s First Meeting With Queen Elizabeth II

Prince Harry has recalled the unexpectedly informal circumstances surrounding Meghan Markle’s first meeting with Queen Elizabeth II, admitting that both he and his future wife immediately regretted how casually they were dressed.

The Duke of Sussex shared the story in his 2023 memoir, Spare, which offered an intimate account of Meghan’s introduction to the Royal Family before the couple became engaged.

Although Harry described the encounter with his grandmother as pleasant, he acknowledged that the landmark moment did not unfold quite as he had imagined.

An important meeting at Royal Lodge

Meghan met Queen Elizabeth II at Royal Lodge in October 2016, approximately a year before she and Harry announced their engagement.

Harry recalled arriving to find the Queen dressed for church in a bright outfit with a matching hat. Meghan, meanwhile, was wearing jeans and a black sweater, while Harry described his own trousers as shabby.

According to the duke, neither of them had expected the occasion to feel so formal. He could immediately sense that Meghan regretted her casual clothing, while he experienced the same concern about his own appearance.

Harry wanted to explain that they had not planned their outfits for such an important introduction, but the Queen had already begun asking Meghan about her visit.

An unexpected guest complicated the occasion

Another detail also frustrated Harry. A man whom he did not recognize was standing near the Queen during the meeting.

When Meghan looked to him for help identifying the guest, Harry was unable to provide an answer. Princess Eugenie then quietly explained that the man was a friend of her mother, Sarah Ferguson.

Harry wrote that he was privately irritated that someone unfamiliar to him happened to be present for what he considered one of the most consequential moments of his life.

Meghan carefully avoided a political trap

During their conversation, the Queen reportedly asked Meghan what she thought of Donald Trump.

Harry said Meghan recognized that discussing politics during her first meeting with the monarch could become a “no-win” situation. She therefore redirected the conversation toward Canada, where she had lived while filming Suits.

The exchange offered Meghan an early glimpse of the careful diplomacy expected inside royal circles.

The identity mix-up that surprised Harry

The meeting produced another awkward moment when Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor entered while carrying the Queen’s handbag.

Harry later said Meghan did not recognize him and initially assumed he was an assistant to the monarch. She reportedly asked Harry who the man holding the handbag was after they had left.

Despite the informal clothing, unfamiliar guest and mistaken identity, Meghan’s introduction to Queen Elizabeth was described as warm and pleasant.

She would later accompany the Queen on a solo royal engagement in Cheshire in June 2018, shortly after marrying Harry. The two women were photographed smiling together during the visit, which marked one of Meghan’s first major appearances without her husband.

Years later, Harry’s recollection revealed that what appeared publicly to be a straightforward royal introduction had included several unexpected and uncomfortable details behind closed doors—beginning with an outfit choice he wished they could have changed.