The BBC presenter who conducted an engagement interview with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry has said she was left perplexed after the Duchess of Sussex described it as an “orchestrated reality show.”

Mishal Husain, one of the BBC’s most respected news anchors, said she was unsure what to make of Markle’s remarks, which the former Suits star made on her Netflix documentary series in 2022.

The 2017 interview was organized by Kensington Palace, with Husain asking the couple about their relationship before their dramatic split from the UK royal family.

Reflecting on the exchange in the bombshell Harry & Meghan Netflix documentary, Markle said it was staged. “It was, you know, rehearsed,” she said. “So we did the thing out with the press and then we went right inside, took the coat off, sat down and did the interview. So it was all in that same moment.”

Husain appears to disagree. In comments published this week, she told Saga Magazine: “When the Duchess of Sussex said that my engagement interview with her and Harry was an ‘orchestrated reality show’ I didn’t know what to make of it.

“They seemed to have thought through what their new lives would be like and what marriage would mean for her life in particular.” Husain added: “There was nothing that pointed to what would happen… It was two people who were full of joy in each other and life.”

It is not the first time Husain has commented on the exchange. Soon after Harry & Meghan streamed on Netflix, she was asked about the allegation by co-presenter Justin Webb live on BBC Radio 4. “We know recollections may vary on this particular subject, but my recollection is definitely very much: asked to do an interview and do said interview,” Husain said.

Her comments may have been a call back to a statement made by Buckingham Palace after the Sussex’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, during which they made allegations of racism.

“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning,” the palace said. “While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.”