Meghan Markle Says She Thought Harry Was 'Joking' About Curtsying to the Queen in Netflix Series
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The pressure was on when Meghan Markle met Queen Elizabeth!
The Duchess of Sussex, 41, opened up about what it was like to meet the Queen for the first time in Harry & Meghan, now streaming on Netflix. In the second episode, the California couple shared more about their love story, opening up about the early days of their transatlantic courtship and Meghan's impromptu meeting with the Queen.
"My grandmother was the first senior member of the family that Meghan met. She had no idea what it all consisted of. So it was a bit of a shock to the system for her," Harry, 38, said in a sit-down interview segment.
"It's surreal. It wasn't like some big moment of like, 'Now you're going to meet my grandmother," Meghan recalled. "I didn't know I was going to meet her until moments before. We were in the car, and we were going to Royal Lodge for lunch. And he's like, 'Oh my grandmother's here, she's gonna be there after church,' " she continued, referencing the royal residence where Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson live.
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Karwai Tang/WireImage Meghan Markle and Queen Elizabeth
"And 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 deadpanned.
"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," Harry said.
Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Queen Elizabeth, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
On what the gesture meant, his wife continued, "Now, I'm starting to realize this is a big deal. I mean, Americans will understand this," she said, adding in a theatrical voice, "we have Medieval Times, dinner and tournament. It was like that. I curtsied as though," she continued, performing an exaggerated bow from the couch where she sat.
Netflix
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"Pleasure to meet you, your Majesty," she giggled, as Prince Harry looked on.
Adding that the momentous meeting was "so intense," the Duchess of Sussex said Princess Eugenie, Jack Brooksbank and Fergie insisted she "did great" after the Queen left, admitting that she now realizes she "didn't know what I was doing."
According to Harry, the rest of the royal family was just as charmed by Meghan after meeting the then-Suits star.
"I remember my family first meeting her and being incredibly impressed. Some of them didn't quite know what to do with themselves," he laughed. "I think they were surprised. Maybe surprised that a ginger could land such a beautiful woman and such an intelligent woman."
Chris Jackson/Getty
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"But the fact that I was dating an American actress was probably what clouded their judgment more than anything else at the beginning. 'Oh she's an American actress — this won't last,' " he added.
Meghan agreed that as their romance blossomed, "the actress thing was the biggest problem, funny enough," when it came to what Harry's family thought of her.
"There is a big idea of what that looks like, from the U.K. standpoint. Hollywood. It was just very easy for them to typecast that."
Volume one of Harry & Meghan is now streaming on Netflix. Volume two premieres next Thursday, Dec. 15.
