Meghan Markle Didn’t Have A ‘Princess Diaries’ Introduction To Royal Protocol: ‘I Needed To Learn A Lot’
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When Meghan Markle was first introduced to royal life following her and Prince Harry’s 2017 engagement, it wasn’t anything like “The Princess Diaries”.
The “Archetypes” podcast host did not have her very own Julie Andrews a.k.a. Queen Clarisse Renaldi to teach her everything she needs to know about proper royal protocol.
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“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?” Markle recalls in her and her husband’s new docuseries, before a clip from the iconic 2001 film appears onscreen. “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.”
Thanks to the internet, the Duchess of Sussex was able to Google the lyrics, which is how she learned the song. However, despite her time and effort practicing the anthem, her missteps were often pointed out by the British press.
“On top of that, with the press, there were a lot of invented protocols,” Harry added.
The “Suits” actress called her learning experience “baptism by fire.”
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She even went as far as attempting to lean the proper etiquette for waving so that she wouldn’t come off as “American.”
“I guess you don’t want to wave like like an American,” she said while providing an example of a big, exaggerated wave. “Everything is just smaller.”
The first three episodes of “Harry & Meghan” are now available to stream on Netflix. The final three parts of the docuseries will premiere on Dec. 15.
