Meghan Markle had a surprising royal lesson before meeting Queen, and it came from Fergie

Prince Harry first introduced Meghan Markle to his grandmother, the Queen, at Windsor Castle before they were married – but before she had to learn an important royal lesson, she was helped by Sarah Ferguson

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Kate, Meghan and Harry curtsy in front of the Queen

When Meghan Markle started dating Prince Harry, she quickly had to learn the traditions of royal life.

And a surprise royal lesson for Meghan came just minutes before she was due to meet the Queen for the first time – and it was delivered by Fergie.

According to Meghan, she didn’t do any research on the royal family when she first started seeing Harry and “didn’t quite understand what the job was”.

In her controversial interview with Oprah Winfrey, she remarked, “I went into it naively because I didn’t know much about the royal family. I didn’t quite understand what the job was.”

This meant that when Meghan was first taken by Harry to meet his grandmother, the Queen, at Windsor Castle, she had no idea she was expected to curtsey to the monarch.

Meghan opened up about how she met the Queen in the Oprah interview, saying she and Harry were having lunch at the Royal Lodge, home of Prince Andrew and his former wife Fergie, when she learned the Queen was there would be.

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Meghan shared: “And I remember Harry and I were in the car and he was like, ‘Okay, well, my, my grandmother is there. So you’re going to meet her.’”

But she was surprised when Harry asked if she knew how to curtsey.

Meghan said: “I thought that was part of the fanfare. I don’t think that happens indoors. And I said but it’s your grandmother. He’s leaving, it’s the Queen.”

She then had to learn that “very quickly”, she remembers: “We practiced right in front of the house and walked in.

“Fergie ran out and said, ‘Do you know how to curtsey?’ … Apparently I curtseyed really low, I can’t remember, and then we sat and talked.”

Last week, Meghan had her final meeting with the Queen when she and Harry took a secret trip to the UK on their way to the Invictus Games in the Netherlands.

It was the first time she had come face-to-face with the monarch and Prince Charles in two years, after resigning as a working royal in early 2020.

Earlier this week, Harry spoke about the meeting in a television interview, saying: “It was great to be with her.

“It was just so nice to see her. She is in great shape. She always has a great sense of humor with me and I just make sure she’s protected and has the right people around.”

The Duke did not elaborate on whether he was referring to royal aides-de-camp or members of his own family, but his comments are likely to have deepened his rift with his father, the Prince of Wales, and his brother, and confused palace officials.