Meghan Markle first thought Prince Andrew was the Queen’s assistant, Harry reveals

Prince Harry has revealed Meghan’s first impression of disgraced royal Prince Andrew in his bombshell memoir, Spare.

Meghan Markle and Prince Andrew. Picture: Supplied

Meghan Markle certainly didn’t Google the royal family before meeting them.

The Suits alum knew so little about her then-boyfriend Prince Harry’s extended family that she mistook Prince Andrew for Queen Elizabeth II’s assistant, according to the Duke of Sussex.

In his explosive Spare memoir, Harry, 38, writes that Markle, 41, was underprepared when she went into her first meeting with his monarch grandmother at the Royal Lodge in October 2016.

“After a moment Meg asked me something about the Queen’s assistant. I asked who she was talking about,” he recalls in the book, which hits stores Tuesday.

“‘That man holding the purse. That man who walked her to the door. That wasn’t her assistant? Who was it?’” Markle replied.

Harry then explained that the man in question was his uncle, informing his then-girlfriend, “‘That was her second son. Andrew.’”

Meghan first thought Prince Andrew was the Queen’s assistant. Picture: AFP.

The Duke of York — who shares daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie with ex-wife Sarah Ferguson — stepped back from public duties in November 2019 over his controversial friendship with convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Andrew, 62, was accused of twice sexually assaulting Virginia Giuffre, who claims she was trafficked by Epstein.

The Duke of York denies all her allegations, and settled his lawsuit in 2021 with a payment reportedly including hefty contributions from the Queen.

Prince Harry has become the first royal to speak out against Prince Andrew following the scandal, criticising his disgraced uncle over the “shameful” affair.

“Despite being embroiled in a shameful scandal, accused of sexually assaulting a young girl, no one had even suggested removing his security,” he wrote while discussing his and wife Meghan Markle’s battle with the palace to keep their security.

“People have had plenty of reasons to complain about us, sex crimes weren’t one of them.”

Harry has made his opinion of his uncle clear. Picture: Getty Images.

Markle, who went on to marry Harry in May 2018, previously compared meeting the late Queen to a themed dinner at the American chain Medieval Times.

“She had no idea what it all consisted of,” Harry explained in the couple’s 2022 Netflix docuseries. “So it was a bit of a shock to the system for her.”

In his book, Harry also reflects on the moment his now-wife met his father, King Charles III, and his stepmother, Queen Consort Camilla.

“Meg looked beautiful,” he writes, noting he had encouraged the former actress to wear her brunette hair down — just the way “Pa likes it.”

He also suggested she only wear a “little” bit of makeup because his father “didn’t approve of women who wore a lot.”

Harry asked his now-wife to only wear a ‘little bit’ of makeup to meet his father. Picture: Getty Images.

It seems the duo were much better prepared for this meeting than they were with the Queen, as they spent their evening with Charles, 74, and Camilla, 75, making small talk and chatting about their “fur babies.”

However, Harry and Markle’s relationship with the royal family quickly soured over the palace’s lack of support for the Duchess of Sussex while she was facing extreme media scrutiny.

The couple eventually decided to step back from their royal duties in January 2020. They made their exit official just over one year later.

This article originally appeared on the New York Post and has been reproduced here with permission

Originally published as Meghan Markle first thought Prince Andrew was the Queen’s assistant, Harry reveals