By now most royal watchers have heard the story about Meghan Markle‘s first meeting with Prince William and the Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton) after she started dating Prince Harry.
The Duchess of Sussex spoke about her first encounter with her future in-laws during the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan. The duke then backed up his wife‘s claim by again detailing the frosty meeting in his memoir Spare. But no one has ever heard William and Kate’s version of that meeting or how the couple acts when they first meet other people dating someone in their family. That is until now.
What Harry and Meghan said made Will and Kate ‘recoil’ and ‘freak out’ during first meeting
Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle, and Prince Harry on the Long Walk at Windsor Castle after viewing flowers and tributes to Queen Elizabeth II | Chris Jackson/Getty Images
In the second episode of the Sussexes’ docuseries, Meghan talked about meeting William and Kate for the first time and the Princess of Wales not wanting to hug saying: “I was a hugger, always been a hugger. I didn’t realize that is really jarring for a lot of Brits. I guess I’d start to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside. There is a forward-facing way of being, and then you close the door and you relax now. But that formality carries over on both sides. And that was surprising to me.”
In Spare, Harry doubled down on Meghan’s version of that first encounter with William and Kate at Kensington Palace in 2016 and claimed that the future king also “recoiled” from the duchess’s hug.
According to the duke: “I introduced Meg, who leaned in and gave him a hug, which completely freaked him out. He recoiled. Maybe Willy expected Meg to curtsey? It would have been protocol when meeting a member of the royal family for the first time, but she didn’t know and I didn’t tell her.”
Harry added: “Willy didn’t hug many strangers. Whereas Meg hugged most strangers.”
Prince William, Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle, and Prince Harry attend a Commonwealth Day Service at Westminster Abbey | PAUL GROVER/POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Kate’s brother details a very different story about his sister and William meeting his future wife
However, what Meghan and Harry revealed about the Waleses’ meeting with Meghan is quite different from what Kate’s brother said happened the very first day they met his future wife.
James Middleton has written his own memoir, Meet Ella: The Dog Who Saved My Life. The Daily Mail has serialized some excerpts from his book in which he discusses how the Prince and Princess of Wales acted when they met his then-girlfriend, Alizee Thevenet.
James’ recollection contradicts Harry and Meghan’s story as he specifically mentions that his sister and brother-in-law did hug Thevenet.
Alizee Thevenet and James Middleton attend the ‘Together at Christmas’ carol service hosted by Kate Middleton at Westminster Abbey | Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images
When writing about the Waleses’ first meeting with his future bride, James explained: “I’m about to take a cup up to Alizee when she appears at the kitchen door. She has just got out of bed, her hair still tousled, and she is wearing one of my shirts. In situations like this, Alizee is wonderfully French. She does not panic or rush upstairs to get dressed.
“Instead, she just greets everyone warmly as if it’s not remotely unusual to be meeting her boyfriend’s sister and brother-in-law for the first time wearing only an oversized man’s shirt. ‘Hello,’ she says, proffering her hand, and with no awkwardness at all we’re soon all chatting.”
James also recalled: “When we all hug goodbye I get a special squeeze from Catherine, who whispers in my ear, ‘She’s just great.’ Mum’s warm smile tells me she agrees. All my stars have aligned: Alizee is perfect for me and my family adores her.”
