Less than a month into her role as the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle joined the Royal Family for her balcony debut to celebrate Trooping the Colour.
The entire family – including Prince Andrew and Peter Phillips – were in attendance, marking a significant moment in Meghan’s integration into the Firm.
The Sussexes had returned from their honeymoon in the Mediterranean just in time to attend the event on June 9, 2018.
Under the microscope of the world’s press, Meghan’s actions were closely observed for signs of whether she was going to be a fit for the Royal Family.
A clip of the event seems to show three-year-old Princess Charlotte take a tumble before Kate swoops in to pick her up. In the background, Meghan appears to laugh.
But according to body language expert Judi James, there is more to the moment than it first appears.
She told the Daily Mail: ‘This clip has seen Meghan accused on social media of a “mean girl” level of enjoying another’s misfortune as she appears to smile or laugh after Charlotte takes a small tumble.
‘The rumours around the bridesmaid-based wedding spat with Kate might have fueled these claims but a closer analysis of the body language here suggests the moment might not be quite what it seems.
Less than a month into her role as the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle joined the Royal Family for her balcony debut to celebrate Trooping the Colour on June 9, 2018
At one point, three-year-old Princess Charlotte took a tumble. Kate swooped in to comfort her, picking her up and hugging her
Kate is seen with Charlotte on her hip as the three-year-old princess rubs her eyes
‘Firstly, there is the perspective to take into consideration.
‘Meghan is busy chatting to Camilla, meaning she might not even have had a clear view of what happened.
‘Camilla, Meghan and Harry had been laughing and chatting prior to the fall so in many ways, Meghan is just politely carrying on with the mood of the conversation here.
‘She seems to be taking her conversational leads from Camilla and Harry and, if anything, it’s Harry putting his hand to his face as though masking a laugh or making an aside-style comment here.
‘And then there is a fair point to be made about anyone in the proximity when a child cries,’ Ms James adds.
‘Smiling is usually a common and thoughtful reaction that can be used to show empathy and care rather than irritation at the noise.
‘An expression of concern can often be seen wrongly as a scowl of intolerance and women in particular will often smile to show empathy for the mother.’
Previously, a lip reader told the Daily Mail that, despite seeming composed, Meghan was nervous during the event and she let her husband know.
The entire family – including Prince Andrew and Peter Phillips – were in attendance, marking a significant moment in Meghan’s integration into the Firm
Body language expert Judi James told the Daily Mail: ‘This clip has seen Meghan accused on social media of a “Mean Girls” level of enjoying another’s misfortune as she appears to smile or laugh after Charlotte takes a small tumble’
Charlotte, a true princess, smiles and waves to the crowd from the Palace balcony
At one point, when Meghan was standing on the balcony, Harry asked Meghan if she was doing OK, to which she replied ‘yeah’.
In a second exchange, Meghan admitted to her husband that she was nervous. The pair looked at each other and the new royal blurted out ‘nervous’ with a smile.
Harry is said to have responded ‘yes’ before smiling.
He added: ‘When you get into it, I’ll tell you more later. Then there’s the flypast and then we all look up to the sky.’
Kate, who, unlike Meghan, has attended Trooping the Colour ever since her first appearance in 2011, stood in front of the new Duchess.
In his tell-all memoir Spare, Harry wrote that everyone was ‘in a good mood, upbeat’ until Kate asked Meghan what she thought of her first Trooping the Colour.
‘And Meg joked: “Colourful.” And a yawning silence threatened to swallow us all whole,’ Harry wrote.
While Trooping the Colour was an annual event for Harry until recently, his wife, Meghan, has only been to two of the parades – in 2018 and 2019.
The main criticism Meghan attracted for her first balcony appearance was her outfit of choice: An off-the-shoulder Carolina Herrera dress in a soft blush pink shade with a matching Philip Treacy hat
The main criticism Meghan attracted for her first balcony appearance was her outfit of choice: an off-the-shoulder Carolina Herrera dress in a soft blush pink shade with a matching Philip Treacy hat.
Her shoulder-baring frock broke royal tradition and was a striking departure from the typical demure look normally favoured at such events.
The late Queen, Camilla and Kate were all dressed in coordinated powder blue ensembles, a striking show of unity.
Meghan, however, stood out in her soft pink dress, further solidifying her status as an outsider to royal tradition.
To some insiders, this was more than just a sartorial choice – it was a message.
Royal women, from the late Queen to Kate, have long adhered to an unwritten but closely followed set of style rules, which dictate appropriate hemlines, sleeve lengths and colour palettes.
The relationship between Meghan and Kate may have already been rocky following a long line of claims about the bridesmaids’ dresses at the Duchess of Sussex’s wedding.
Early reports in 2018 claimed Meghan had made Kate cry during a row over the dresses.
The Duchess of Sussex later disagreed in her bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview, claiming it was the other way around and adding: ‘She (Kate) was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised. And she brought me flowers’.
Meghan stood out in her soft pink dress, further solidifying her status as an outsider to royal tradition
Royal women, from the late Queen to Kate, have long adhered to an unwritten but closely followed set of style rules, which dictate appropriate hemlines, sleeve lengths and colour palettes
Meghan and Harry have not publicly attended Trooping the Colour since 2019.
In 2023, Harry was not invited to the event, with the Palace claiming only working royals would be in attendance.
Richard Eden, Daily Mail’s diary editor, said in 2023: ‘This is the first year of his life that Harry hasn’t been invited at all. With Harry and Meghan, we’ve always had a sort of “will they, won’t they” before every big royal occasion.
‘Well, it seems like the Palace has tackled that this time by just not inviting them at all. So, you know, it’s significant.
‘When Harry and Meghan quit royal duties, I think officials were very keen to stress that they would still be invited to occasions such as Trooping the Colour so the fact they haven’t been invited is very significant.’
While it is unlikely Harry and Meghan will be seen on the Palace balcony anytime soon, many hope that a reconciliation is on the cards ahead of the 2027 Invictus Games in Birmingham.
With recent mumblings of a secret peace summit held between Harry and King Charles’ senior aides, there is a hope that the fractured relationship between the Sussexes and the Firm will one day heal.
