Why Meghan Markle Wishes Her Intro to Royal Protocol Was Like The Princess Diaries

In her new Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, Meghan Markle revealed how she first learned about royal etiquette—and it wasn't like Disney's The Princess Diaries, starring Anne Hathaway.

By Charlotte Walsh Dec 08, 2022 5:32 PMTags
Watch: Meghan Markle Compares Royal Life to The Princess Diaries

According to Meghan Markle, royal life in the United Kingdom isn't like Genovia. 

The Suits star revealed exactly how she was first introduced to royal life after getting engaged to Prince Harry in 2017—and as she puts it, she did not have Julie Andrews on-hand to teach her proper protocol. 

"Joining this family, I knew there was a protocol for how things were done and…do you remember that old movie Princess Diaries with Anne Hathaway?" Meghan recalled, before a clip of the iconic 2001 film flashed on-screen. "There's no class and some person who goes, 'Sit like this cross your legs like this, use this fork, don't do this, curtsy then, wear this kind of hat.' Doesn't happen. So I needed to learn a lot, including the national anthem."

To learn the song, the Duchess of Sussex did what every good millennial does—she Googled it. But, despite practice, the British press frequently noted her missteps. 

"On top of that, with the press," Harry added, "there were a lot of invented protocols."

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All the Major Bombshells From Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Docuseries

Meghan summed the experience up by calling it "baptism by fire." Clearly, Meghan will not be joining the cast of the upcoming third film.

According to the Archetypes podcaster, she even tried to learn how to wave properly, so she wouldn't appear as "American."

"I guess you don't want to wave like like an American," she recalled, giving a big, exaggerated wave as an example. "Everything is just smaller."

Netflix

Elsewhere in the docuseries, the couple reveal intimate details behind their first date, how Harry went against his family to protect Meghan and the Duke of Sussex's regrets behind his infamous 2005 scandal where he wore a Nazi uniform to a costume party.  

The first three episodes of Harry & Meghan are now streaming on Netflix. The final three parts premiere on the streaming service Dec. 15.

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