Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are, to put it mildly, very divisive figures. Some see them as ungrateful royals who abandoned the world’s easiest job and started making a living by selling out the family secrets. Others see them as an inspirational love story: not only did Harry break all the rules by marrying an American divorcee, but he wasn’t afraid to stand up to his family and leave his home country, all just to make her happy. So, while these Royal rebels are very controversial, they’re also considered very inspirational.
In reality, Harry and Meghan aren’t heroes or villains; they are just humans who, like the rest of us, are simply trying to find their peace. Like everyone else, these two have also generated more than their fair share of cringeworthy moments. However, while our cringiest moments happen in private, these two are so famous that the entire world is watching whenever they make a mistake. Don’t believe it? As usual, we’ve got all the receipts. Keep reading to discover Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s most hilariously cringeworthy moments!
The curtsy cringe queen
It can be hard to remember sometimes, but Meghan Markle wasn’t always cringey, especially to Americans. When Harry first met her, Meghan was best known as the sexiest actor on the acclaimed legal drama Suits. She likely saw marriage to a literal Prince Charming as the ultimate come-up: she would stop being a moderately famous celebrity and enjoy a new full-time job as part of one of the world’s richest families. Unfortunately, Meghan’s American values clashed with the Royal Family’s values, and she further offended them by getting even the littlest things wrong.
For example, in that infamous Oprah interview, Meghan admitted that she had no idea how to curtsy, something that she’d have to do for the Queen. Harry had to walk her through how to do it, which was more than a little embarrassing. Plus, she seemingly never got any better at it: she does a sarcastic re-enactment of her curtsying for the Queen in their Harry & Meghan series, and it looks just awful. Harry looks deeply uncomfortable while she does it, and for good reason. As many viewers pointed out, she is basically mocking the late Queen Elizabeth right in front of her grandson!
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Getting booed at a Dodgers game
Sometimes, being famous is a real double-edged sword. For example, it’s nice when fans recognize you wherever you go…who wouldn’t want a nice little ego boost whenever they leave the house? But you can also be spotted by your haters as much as by your fans. That’s awkward enough when it’s just someone on the street or in a store. But can you imagine all of your haters coming for you at once in the middle of a huge sporting event? Sadly, this is exactly what happened to Harry and Meghan when they attended a Dodgers game together!
Dressed down and wearing baseball caps, it was very clear that Harry and Meghan just wanted to blend in when they attended Game 4 of the World Series. However, they got featured on the Jumbotron, and this resulted in loud, widespread booing, and all they could do was force weak smiles while everyone jeered. Why was everyone booing them, though? It could be as simple as Americans taking a dim view of royalty. Ironically, though, even royal supporters had a reason to yell: after all, Harry was inexplicably rooting for the Dodgers to beat the Toronto Blue Jays, even though his father is the King of Canada!
When Meghan tried to steal the mic from Kevin Costner
Sometimes, Meghan makes mistakes that we’d never know about if she didn’t tell us. That whole curtsy screw-up? Literally the only reason we know that she sucks at doing this is because she let the world know on two separate occasions. Sometimes, though, she screws up in a big way when the entire world is watching. And that’s exactly what happened when she tried to steal a microphone from major movie star Kevin Costner!
Back in September 2023, Harry and Meghan attended Kevin Costner’s One805 Live, a charity event intended to raise money for Santa Barbara’s first responders. When the royals appeared onstage, Meghan tried to take the mic from Costner, and he refused to give it to her. They had to awkwardly shuffle to the side of the stage. Later, someone did offer a microphone to Harry, but he refused it, likely because he was still embarrassed by his wife’s attempted mic theft!
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Harry begged Disney to hire Meghan
When Harry and Meghan stepped back from their royal responsibilities and fled to America, they faced a major problem: a (relative) lack of money. In that Oprah interview, Harry admitted that his father had already cut him off, and it seems like that didn’t change after they left the country. Unable to rely on the family funds, the two had to find new ways to make money. Eventually, they landed on their feet, making media deals with Spotify and Netflix even as Harry made millions selling a pouty memoir.
Even before they were strapped for cash, though, the duo seemed weirdly desperate to make a little extra cash. For example, at the 2019 London premiere of the live-action Lion King, Harry was recorded asking then-CEO Bob Iger to get his wife a job. “You know she does voiceovers,” he said. “Did you know that? You seem surprised. She’s really interested.” The whole time, Iger seemed deeply uncomfortable. That was also how most of us watching felt as we wondered why Meghan was chasing side gigs after marrying into one of the world’s oldest and wealthiest families!