What Prince Harry Said About Meghan Markle's Infamous Curtsy in 'Spare'

Meghan Markle "dropped a deep, flawless curtsy" during her first meeting with Queen Elizabeth II, according to Prince Harry.

The Duke of Sussex's account of the now famous moment struck a different tone to Meghan's more self-effacing description of doing an exaggerated "medieval times" style bow during the couple's Netflix documentary.

Clips of the duchess recreating the moment went viral on social media after the broadcast, with some commentators accusing her of disrespecting the tradition.

Prince Harry Describes Meghan's First Meeting With Queen

Spare described the moment Harry and Meghan went to Royal Lodge, Prince Andrew's official residence, to meet Andrew's ex-wife Sarah Ferguson alongside her daughter Prince Eugenie and Eugenie's now-husband Jack Brooksbank.

Meghan, who already knew Eugenie, was told in the car that the queen had stopped by and would be there when they arrived.

Harry wrote: "We entered the large front sitting room and there she was. Granny. The monarch. Queen Elizabeth II. Standing in the middle of the room. She turned
slightly. Meg went straight to her and dropped a deep, flawless curtsy.
'Your Majesty. Pleasure to meet you.'

"Euge and Jack were near Granny and they almost seemed to pretend not to
know Meg. They were very quiet, very proper. Each gave Meg a quick kiss on
the cheek, but it was pure royal. Pure British.

"There was some bloke standing to the other side of Granny and I thought:
Bogey at twelve o'clock. Meg looked to me for a clue as to his identity, but I
couldn't help—I'd never seen him before.

"Euge whispered into my ear that he was a friend of her mum's. Ah, OK. I looked at him hard: 'Brilliant. Congratulations on being present for one of the most consequential moments of my life.'"

Sarah, also known as Fergie, had earlier helped Meghan practice her curtsy outside and joined Harry in filling her in on some additional royal protocol.

He wrote: "I asked if she knew how to curtsy. She said she thought so. But she also couldn't tell if I was serious. 'You're about to meet the Queen.' 'I know, but it's your grandma.' 'But she's the Queen.'"

He added: "Fergie came outside, somewhat aflutter, and said: 'Do you know how to
curtsy?' Meg shook her head.

"Fergie demonstrated once. Meg imitated her. There wasn't time for a more advanced tutorial. We couldn't keep Granny waiting.

"As we walked towards the door Fergie and I both leaned into Meg, whispering quick reminders. When you first meet the Queen it's Your Majesty. Thereafter it's just Ma'am. Rhymes with ham."

How Meghan Markle Described Her First Curtsy

Meghan also described the meeting during the couple's six-part Netflix documentary, Harry & Meghan.

She said: "Now I'm starting to realize, this is a big deal. I mean, Americans will understand this, we have 'medieval times, dinner and tournament.' It was like that."

Meghan mimed a deep bow with arms outstretched on either side while Harry, sitting next to her, watched on.

She said: "'Pleasure to meet you, your majesty, was that OK?' It was so intense."

Jack Royston is Newsweek's chief royal correspondent based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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