Meghan spills on first meeting with William and Kate in Netflix docu-series

Meghan Markle has lifted the lid on her first meeting with then-boyfriend Harry’s brother and his wife – hinting it wasn’t exactly laden with warmth.

Meghan Markle has taken a subtle swipe at Prince William and Kate Middleton, hinting at their awkward reaction to her embrace on the night she first met them.

The Duchess of Sussex went into detail about their initial encounter in the long-awaited Netflix docu-series, Harry & Meghan, explaining that she was “in ripped jeans and barefoot” when William and Kate came over for dinner.

“I was a hugger, I’ve always been a hugger – I didn’t realise that was jarring for a lot of Brits,” Meghan told the filmmakers, before suggesting the pair didn’t exactly exude warmth.

“I guess 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 the door and you go, ‘whew, great, OK, we can relax now’ – but that formality carries over on both sides.

“And that was surprising to me.”

Meghan admitted: “It’s so funny if I look back at it now, because now I know so much – and I’m so glad I didn’t then. Because I could just authentically be myself without so much preparedness.”

Meghan opened up about her first meeting with her future in-laws. Picture: Netflix

Kate and William. Picture: John Tlumacki/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Her comments came after Harry almost certainly raised eyebrows over at Buckingham Palace with his comment on royal marriages in the first episode of the bombshell new series.

“I think for so many people in the family, especially men, there can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit the mould as opposed to somebody who you are perhaps are destined to be with,” he told the filmmaker.

During the second episode, Meghan and Harry also revealed new details about her first meeting with his grandmother, the late Queen, with Harry admitting the situation was a bit “weird”.

“(Meghan) had no idea what it all consisted of, so it was a bit of a shock to the system for her,” he said.

“How do you explain (to people) to bow to your grandma? And that they’ll need to curtsy? Especially to an American – it’s weird.”

Meghan re-enacts her first meeting with the Queen. Picture: Netflix

Meghan described the “surreal” and unexpected moment she realised she’d be meeting the monarch, and that it had been sprung on her at the last minute by her then-boyfriend.

“We were in the car and we were going to Royal Lodge for lunch and he goes, ‘Oh, my grandmother’s here – she’s going to be there after church’,” she recalled.

“And I remember in the car driving up, he says, ‘you know how to curtsy right?’ And I thought it was a joke.”

Meghan added that afterwards, she’d been praised by Princess Eugenie, her partner Jack Brooksbank, and Sarah Ferguson, who told her that she’d done “great”.

“I didn’t know what I was doing,” she admitted.

Meghan with the late Queen in 2018. Picture: Neil Mockford/GC Images

During the interview, Harry also opened up about his family being “incredibly impressed” upon meeting her, claiming “some of them didn’t quite know what to do with themselves”.

“They were surprised, maybe surprised a ginger could land such a beautiful woman, and an intelligent woman,” he said.

“But the fact that I was dating an American actress was probably what clouded their judgment more than anything else, ‘Oh, she’s an American actress, this wont last’.”

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Harry & Meghan is a six-part Netflix series directed by Oscar-nominee Liz Garbus. It is the flagship offering in the couple’s rumoured $183 million multi-year content deal with the streaming giant.

It’s a project that has been in the works for months, with two trailers being released in the past two weeks, both making headlines around the world.

Multiple reports suggest Harry and Meghan have been at odds with Netflix bosses in attempts to delay the show, following a chaotic period for the royal family, including the Queen’s death in September.

The couple are understood to have wanted to push the controversial TV series back to 2023 amid backlash over the new series of The Crown, which is chronicling the breakdown of Charles and Diana’s marriage.

It’s already copped controversy for the use of “fake” and “misleading” photos which have been exposed in detail, including one paparazzi picture taken from the Harry Potter premiere in 2011.

The first three episodes landed around the world on December 8. The next and final three will drop in one week on December 15.

Originally published as Meghan spills on first meeting with William and Kate in Netflix docu-series