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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle haven’t always fared so well in public perception. Since their lavish wedding in May 2018 at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle, the couple has been the topic of widespread interest, as well as scrutiny. For one, Meghan has undergone a remarkable transformation since her marriage to Harry. On top of this, Meghan hasn’t been able to escape relationship rumors, particularly ones about the long-term stability of her and Harry’s marriage. That’s largely because there are several weird things about Meghan and Harry’s relationship we can’t ignore, and a key point of this dilemma is that their interactions while out in public can sometimes be strange.
For one, Meghan and Harry can often give off the vibe that they’re trying a little too hard to make their relationship look perfect, and this, in part, likely emerges out of a self-consciousness about leaving the British Royal Family and being estranged from many members of both of their families. That cut-throat behavior makes them more compelled to present a relationship that looks like it was all worth it because it was done out of true love. With this much pressure on them, it makes sense that Harry and Meghan have had their fair share of awkward moments, making people question their relationship. In some cases, people have wondered about varying degrees of hypocrisy or heated moments that may point to more tension bubbling beneath the surface than Harry and Meghan would wish us to know about.
That time when Prince Harry corrected Meghan Markle on the Buckingham Palace balcony
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At the 2019 Trooping the Colour, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stood on the balcony at Buckingham Palace when one of their first awkward exchanges caught the attention of viewers worldwide. Meghan repeatedly turned around to speak to Harry, smiling and joking about something. Harry wasn’t having it and said something curt to his wife, causing her to face forward with body language that showed her to be very upset.
@_royal_family0
Megan getting told to turn around twice by Prince Harry on the balcony 😬😂❤️👑 #fyp #royalfamily #foryou #princeharry #meganmarkle #foryou
♬ original sound – ♥️Queen Diana♥️
Lip readers zoomed in on Harry and reported that he sharply told Meghan to ‘turn around.’ Meghan was clearly put off by the exchange, and it set a bad tone for their relationship. On the one hand, it showed Meghan’s lack of interest in learning the expected protocol around key events for the British Royal Family, which is what led to the awkward moment on the balcony. Clearly, judging from Harry’s reaction, members of the royal family must not turn their backs on the public during balcony moments, and it was unfortunate that Meghan didn’t consider this. On the other hand, Harry’s sharp correction doesn’t bode well for their future of respectful, gentle communication; Meghan was clearly upset about it, and it was all caught on camera.
Meghan’s grip on Harry was so intense that people nicknamed it the ‘Meghan claw’
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Meghan Markle has a unique way of holding onto Prince Harry in public that has rubbed people the wrong way. Instead of holding his hand, Meghan has sometimes gripped him so tightly that people online call the hold the “Meghan claw.” While it’s happened many times, there was one clear example of it when Harry and Meghan attended the opening ceremony of the 2025 Invictus Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, in Canada in February 2025. Meghan leaned over, resting her head on Harry’s shoulder, holding his hand with one hand while simultaneously tightly holding onto his arm with her other hand.
It’s perfectly natural for couples to enjoy PDA, and Harry and Meghan have famously exhibited much more PDA than other royal couples. However, what makes this style of touch awkward and alarming is that Harry seems to shrink away from it. At the very least, he seems ambivalent toward Meghan’s more consistent desire for physical contact. Meghan’s part in the situation has raised speculation, too. Some people online feel that it’s a desire to control Harry or to manage him. It’s particularly significant that “the claw” came out at the Invictus Games, which has historically been a big part of Harry’s life, long before he met Meghan. So the fact that Meghan held onto him so tightly at this special event seems to indicate that she wants to insert herself in something that pre-dates her.
Meghan’s awkward trophy incident at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club was tough to watch
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People nearly died of cringe over a viral video clip of Meghan Markle joining Prince Harry on stage at the Santa Barbara Polo & Racquet Club in May 2022. Meghan presented Harry and his teammates with a trophy, but then she stayed in the middle of all of the players instead of stepping to the side. At first, she tried to grab an award from one of the players and, when he didn’t let go of it, Meghan tried to hold onto the trophy. Then, when she got squashed out by the many male polo players, she squeezed her way back in the center and awkwardly clapped while crouching under the trophy.
@palaceconfidential
As Meghan Markle’s controversial Netflix show premieres tomorrow, let’s take a look back at this awkward 2022 moment. After Meghan planted a kiss on Prince Harry to celebrate his polo win, his teammates moved in to lift the trophy—only to find her stuck in the middle. The Duchess of Sussex ended up awkwardly squished as they hoisted the cup over her head. 🎥SIMA.MORRISON #meghanmarkle #meghanandharry #princeharry #royafamily #royalnews #awkwardmoments
♬ just leave me to bleed – usedcvnt
While the video doesn’t show any kind of volatility between the couple, it still counts as an incredibly awkward moment between Harry and Meghan. For a couple so invested in positive PR, a practice run might have been beneficial to at least mitigate this kind of error. But many on the internet felt like there was something more substantive to the awkward situation, pointing to issues in her and Harry’s marriage. Meghan seemed unwilling to step aside, clearly keen to stay in the spotlight even though it was Harry’s team and Harry’s moment. That inability to let one’s spouse shine could point to trouble in their marriage, and the video likely went viral because it captures this worry so perfectly.
Meghan’s delivery room video — showcasing her and Harry’s dance moves — made people cringe
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In June 2025, Meghan Markle jumped on Instagram to share a video of herself and Prince Harry in a hospital delivery room prior to the birth of their daughter, Lilibet Mountbatten-Windsor, who was born in June 2021. Meghan’s throwback video featured herself, obviously heavily pregnant, starting to dance along with Harry to “Baby Momma Dance Song.” Meghan explained why she needed to dance in the caption: “Four years ago today, this also happened. Both of our children were a week past their due dates… so when spicy food, all that walking, and acupuncture didn’t work – there was only one thing left to do!”
While it was clearly all in good fun, the internet had an assortment of different reactions, not all of them good. Many found it incongruous that Meghan and Harry have emphasized their privacy, then went and posted something so personal. They’ve been doubly protective about their children’s privacy, so the fact that they shared this video seemed hypocritical or, at the very least, like they weren’t sure which direction they wanted to go in terms of their relationship with the public. The video was also incredibly awkward because it was such an intimate moment between the couple; their daughter was about to be born, and they were in a hospital room. Choosing to share this very private moment overshadowed the birth by turning it into social media content.