Meghan Markle’s First Time Meeting Kate Middleton Sounds Awk

On Dec. 8, Netflix released the first half of the highly-anticipated Harry & Meghan docuseries, and the show has already stirred up a fair bit of speculation — especially when it comes to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s relationship with Prince William and Kate Middleton. In Episode 2, Meghan described her first time meeting Kate, and it sounded a little awkward, partially because Meghan didn’t know a lot about the royal family.

“Now I know so much, and I’m so glad I didn’t then,” Meghan explained. “I could just authentically be myself without so much preparedness.” She described an early interaction with Will and Kate: “Even when Will and Kate came over and I had met her for the first time... They came for dinner. I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot.” So, not exactly the dress code most royals would expect.

Meghan continued, “I was a hugger, always been a hugger. I didn't realize that is really jarring for a lot of Brits." (Note: If given the opportunity, do not go in for the hug when meeting Will or Kate.)

"I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside," she explained. "That there is a forward-facing way of being. And then you close the door, 'Oh, great. OK, we can relax now.' But that formality carries over on both sides and that was surprising to me."

It wasn’t the only time Meghan was caught off guard by the formality of the royal family. Right before she met the queen, she had a similar moment of surprise. “I remember we were in the car and we were driving up and he's like, 'You know how to curtsy, right?' And I just thought it was a joke," Meghan explained in the doc.

Harry added, "How do you explain that to people? How do you explain that you bow to your grandmother and that you would need to curtsy? Especially to an American. That's weird.”