Am shocked Meghan said this…

[Ndd135632]

She said: 'Even when Will and Kate came over and I was meeting her for the first time I remember I was in ripped jeans, I was bare foot, like I was a hugger, I have always been a hugger I didn't realise that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.'

'I started to understand that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside, that there is a forward facing way of being and then you close the door and thing OK we can relax now, but that formality carries over on both sides and that was surprising to me.'

What an utterly horrible thing to say about your sister and brother-in-law. I am done with her now. People are DIFFERENT Meghan. We are not all like you you you you.

I can't see how this is 'utterly horrible'

Don't think it's a bad thing to say. Harry should have told her what to expect, obviously he didn't.

It's a perfectly normal reaction. I would think that most people expect the Royals to be different in private and behind closed doors.

Poor Meghan, she's not realised that she can't change the Royal family the way she would like. And neither wiil her overpriviledged spouse.

Oh so you do understand cultural traditions then? Being british or Royal doesn’t make it any less of a tradition, or is it ok to shit on it because it fits an agenda?

Exactly. Protocol actually dictates that Meghan should curtsey to any Royal who outranks her, so if they turned up expecting that and Harry hadn't briefed her adequately, no wonder it was awkward.

Plus, she and PH had been dating months by then. William and he were still close as brothers, so W and K would've known it was a serious relationship. So if I was MM meeting K for the first time, I'd probably have greeted her with an enthusiastic 'it's nice to meet you, I've heard so much about you!' and gone in for a hug. If I then had to stop to curtsey instead, I'd have been WTAF.

I know it's not W and K's fault, but c'mon – how bloody antiquated is it that the Royals still have to bow and scrape to each other behind closed doors? It's ridiculous.

@antelopevalley people are not automatically racist because they dislike meghan or something she says
Its too easy to just say racist
I liked her at first , thought she may be a breath of fresh air etc
Now I find them just a winging pair really , him more so
And I think he really misled Meghan about what life in RF would be like.
That doesn't make me racist

@OriginalOrchid It is polite when visiting someone at home to abide by their way of doings.

Meghan in her ripped jeans and bare feet smacks of I’m so hip and cool 😎 .
I cannot have any respect for someone who acts like a petulant teenager. People dislike her not because of her race/colour it’s her egocentric personality.

What was the strong reaction though? (I’m not planning to watch the documentary!).

I’m making the point that members of my family would indeed react strongly if I welcomed them into my house dressed that way-a generational thing in our case-but yes if I wore ‘trendy’ ripped jeans my brother would probably take the piss, ask if I needed some new ones! And I’m younger than Meghan

I don’t think it’s a horrible thing to say.

I think it illustrates what a poor job Harry did at preparing her for the situation.

how many of us have had to do the prep for introducing our new partners to our families? There is always an explanation of the quirks of the family that we recognize and know they are about to encounter. You would tell your partner in advance that the family has certain habits for clothing, etc. there would be quirks you don’t realize and your partner might dissect with you later, but you warn them of what you know.

it’s the same with the story about not teaching her how to curtsy. If she is going to have too curtsy to meet members of your family, take 10 minutes and teach her how. Also explain to whom and when. Do it in advance and prepare.

@healthadvice123 Except there are a lot of racist comments on MN.

@StarbucksSmarterSister her boyfriends house is the royal families though

I personally would change and wear appropriate clothing. Especially if my man was the Prince of England, out of respect to the family and the culture. I would however expect him to explain these things to me initially and then it would be my decision if I wanted to change or not. Same with hugging, if he said oh btw they are not huggers I’d be like oh okay I’ll respect that boundary. Not an unreasonable request for your partner to communicate with you.

Nope. I was just told his family were polite and would be nice to me whatever they thought.

@Ponderingwindow exactly you warn them and prepare
Like don't leave your drink near gt aunt xxx she will nab it or don't start talking about cars with uncle nigel otherwise you will never get away etc

Im a hugger but I wouldn't hug someone I was meeting for the first time - a stranger - no matter who they were related to.

But we actually don't know if its true

I have 2 close friends who worked for the royals for decades. It absolutely IS true that they bow!

But William and Katherine clearly didn't have this understanding either? Surely if they're visiting someone else's home in a different country it should be THEM who conforms to the traditions of their hosts?

I honestly don't see anything wrong with what Meghan was wearing. She'd have done her hair and make up. She wouldn't have looked like a bag lady.

Piers, is that you???

So they are visitors in your home but the respect is only one way?

The truth is you think the Royal Family are better than Meghan or other commoners, so she should do whatever they want.

I honestly don't see anything wrong with what Meghan was wearing.

Any excuse to bash her, for some people, I suspect.

What on earth is she supposed to "LEARN"? I'm British and think what she said is totally fine. I certainly wouldn't expect anyone to dress up if I was dropping over.

@ImJustMadAboutSaffron Especially since Meghan was 36. Ripped jeans were trendy. And William and Kate were young. She wasn't meeting someone in their eighties.

Surely if she was unprepared this is down to Harry, who should have said, look, quick reminder, and I know this is weird, but Kate is the future Queen and you're going to have to curtsey, plus she's a bit reserved anyway, so don't expect her to warm up immediately. If he had done this, it would have been obvious that going in for a hug would have been really, really awkward.

IMO Meghan is being VERY clever and sly with this comment. For a few reasons

‘ I didn't realise that is really jarring for a lot of Brits‘

basically she is saying here - I’m so lovely and affectionate, I just wanted to hug and embrace. ‘Kate and Will’ didn’t - paints the picture they were stiff and cold.

Two, There is absolutely nothing positive in her comment about meeting her in laws for the first time. Nothing like ‘it was lovely to meet them - they were very friendly’. She portrays the interaction as very cold. Very intentionally

three, why does she need to bring up them and this private intimate meeting anyway in the first place? This was obviously a private intimate meeting - why does she have to share that with the whole world? She doesn’t understand that not everyone would want their private interactions being scrutinised by the media.

fourth, calling them ‘Kate and Will’ nicknames - Kate has made it clear she wants to be known as Catherine now, William calls her Catherine. I have not heard William being called ‘Will’ before - in particular by this woman who is clearly now out to portray him in the worse possible light. I am sure it ruffles William and Catherine’s feathers when Meghan has the audacity to call them by their nicknames. It’s a lack of respect.

finally - OP is right. The digs here are quite subtle but definitely there. That the formalness left her feeling uncomfortable and she is judging them for that. She also knows that most of her audience will relate to her ‘lack of formality’ over the Cambridges formality. She is trying to come across as super relaxed cool girl in her ripped jeans and barefeet.