Meghan masters art of selfie defence
BRITAIN She was charming, confident and a hit with the crowds who flocked into Nottingham yesterday to catch their first glimpse of Prince Harry’s bride-to-be. But days after the engagement was announced Meghan Markle is already learning to do things the Windsor way. Specifically: no selfies.
Several thousand people lined the city centre as Markle, 36, accompanied Prince Harry, 33, on her first royal walkabout. She smiled, she waved, she made sympathetic noises to people who had stood in the cold for hours for the privilege of meeting her.
She also revealed, however, that she has been well drilled in the younger royals’ aversion to posed selfies with the public. Barbara Miller, 63, from Nottingham, divulged: ‘‘I said, ‘Can we have a selfie?’ She said, ‘We’re not allowed to do selfies’.’’ If it was a rebuff, it did not cause offence. ‘‘She was so pleasant, she was lovely,’’ Miller said.
However, their walkabout was not entirely out of the royals’ rulebook. Tactile in a way that is almost unheard of in the royal family, they indulged in so many little displays of affection that it might go down as one of the most romantic royal walkabouts in Windsor history.
The future Princess Henry of Wales knew how to win people over. When Emily Harland, 21, an Australian student at Coventry University, struggled to shake hands because she was so cold, Markle slipped a hand warmer heat pack into her palms.
For some 25 minutes she worked the crowds with Harry, introducing herself with a cheery ‘‘Hi, I’m Meghan’’. Just in case they weren’t sure. ‘‘I’m so happy,’’ she said. ‘‘It’s just such a thrill to be here.’’
As all those wellwishers thronged behind the barriers with their flowers and cards, it may all have been a new experience for her – the Hollywood red carpet is a cakewalk compared with the trial by handshake that is the royal walkabout – but she had a natural instinct about what to do: show off your engagement ring, make a beeline for the children and pets, and when in doubt talk about the weather.
Ann McGuire, who brought her son Leo, nearly three, with her, said that Markle bent down to speak to the toddler, telling him he was ‘‘so brave’’ to come out in the cold. ‘‘She reached out again and grabbed my hand and said, ‘I’m so glad you braved it to stand in the cold’,’’ she said. ‘‘She’s such a natural.’’
At a charity event in the Nottingham Contemporary arts centre to mark World Aids Day, one star-struck young footballer was GETTY IMAGES heard to say: ‘‘Is that Prince Harry’s wife?’’ Bride-to-be Ale Araphate, 21, said Markle was beautiful. ‘‘Only a prince can have a lady like that.’’
And if the people of Nottingham were pleased to meet Markle, Harry looked equally pleased to have the chance to show her off. At one point a young man with flaming red hair shouted from the crowd: ‘‘How does it feel to be a ginger with Meghan?’’ ‘‘Great, isn’t it?’’ Harry replied. ‘‘Unbelievable.’’ - The Times