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An interaction between the Duke and Duchess of Sussex on the balcony of Buckingham Palace that was caught on camera during the Trooping the Colour celebrations in 2019 has gone viral after resurfacing on social media site, TikTok.
Harry and Meghan are among the most watched couples in the world with rare mishaps or protocol breaks at public events being spotted and debated by critics, owing to their polarizing popularity on both sides of the Atlantic.
Uploaded to TikTok by user star2810.mt on November 16, the footage of the couple's apparently awkward interaction during the 2019 Trooping the Colour event has been viewed over 600,000 times on the platform.
@star2810.mt NEVER FORGET! she couldn’t turn her head on the royal balcony #meghanmarkle #princeharry #royalfamily #star2810 ♬ original sound - Star ?
In the clip, Meghan is seen turning towards Harry on the balcony during the royal family's traditional appearance following the trooping event which marks the sovereign's official birthday.
As Meghan turns, Harry appears to tell her to turn around and face forward, a gesture that is repeated twice.
The event came just seven months before Harry and Meghan left the U.K., formally splitting from the monarchy amid reports of deep family tensions and conflict with the British tabloid press.
Captioned "NEVER FORGET! she couldn't turn her head on the royal balcony," the video has received in excess of 7,000 likes and 400 comments, many of which have voiced support for Meghan while others questioned the duchess' grasp of royal tradition.
"Soooo glad they got out:) she rescued him🥲," one TikTok user wrote of Meghan.
"Now I feel kind of sorry for her," posted another, with a further comment reading: "It's like she's not even willing to learn royal protocol and gets mad if forced to."
The exact nature of the interaction is purely speculative as the couple have not publicly acknowledged it. It was not mentioned in their Harry & Meghan Netflix docuseries, nor did Harry include it in his 2023 memoir, Spare.
The moment has, however, been replicated in the media as a pivotal moment in the couple's royal careers, with the 2021 movie Harry & Meghan: Escaping the Palace dramatizing the incident to show the prince telling his wife sharply to "turn around. Turn around now!"
Since their split from the monarchy, public attention on the Sussexes has increased as they have provided fans and critics alike with unparalleled access to life behind palace walls and their private views on people, places and public events.
In May 2023, strains in the relationships between the Sussexes and wider royal family were highlighted around the time of King Charles III's coronation.
Following the publication of Harry's bombshell-heavy Spare book, speculation circulated that the king's youngest son wouldn't attend the historic crowning ceremony of his father in London. But one month before the big day, it was announced that Harry would attend alone.
Meghan, it was confirmed by both Buckingham Palace and the Sussexes, would remain in California with the couple's two children, Prince Archie (born 2019) and Princess Lilibet (born 2021).
To date, the last royal event attended by both Harry and Meghan together was the state funeral and service following the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.
James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
About the writer
James Crawford-Smith is a Newsweek Royal Reporter, based in London, U.K. His focus is reporting on the British royal family ... Read more