Pregnant Meghan Markle has been on a marathon tour of the South Pacific along with husband Prince Harry. The 37-year-old is now taking heat for a “too short” curtsy when meeting with Tongan King Tupou VI and his wife Queen Nanasipauʻu Tukuʻaho on an Oct. 26 visit. The American born Duchess of Sussex hasn’t had much practice with curtsying, even needing to be prompted by her husband to do so during the June 12 Trooping of the Color ceremony for Queen Elizabeth II. Now she’s divided royal watchers with a half-hearted curtsy in the Polynesian paradise.
The former Suits actress didn’t bend at the knee as required, instead giving a hesitant tip of her right foot behind her left when greeting the Tongan royals. Fans of the British Royal Family are attacking her for bad protocol, especially since she proved that even though Meghan’s three months pregnant, she’s well able to bend down into nearly kneeling poses by greeting a wheelchair bound fan during her Fraser Island, Australia visit just days prior.
Meghan displayed a perfect curtsy to Queen Elizabeth when the two met up at Princess Eugenie‘s Oct. 12 wedding so some fans are wondering why she stumbled with the protocol when meeting the foreign dignitaries. “Looks like she wasn’t sure and didn’t have time to ask Prince Harry,” one fan commented on social media while another scolded her, “I wonder if maybe she wasn’t sure if she should curtsy? Either way, you gotta commit!” Some even added that three-year-old Princess Charlotte already has her royal curtsy down to perfection.
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The Instagram page Royalty and Protocol which documents all of European royals meet and greets had tons of divided comments over Meghan’s half-hearted attempt at curtsying for the Tongan dignitaries. “To those saying she’s still learning – commoners who get to meet the Queen do better than her, and they have never done it before. Meghan has had plenty of opportunities to get it right. She isn’t trying hard enough,” one person wrote. Another added, “This is a shame. She had enough time to learn.” However another fan called her move “lovely” while another observed, “I see she got confused, and that is the fair of those who should have prepared her. Definitely it’s a huge mistake, but fault is not solely on her.”