Meghan Markle’s recent incident involving a formal announcement by staff during a casual magazine interview has drawn sharp criticism from a Royal expert, who labeled the moment “cringeworthy” and emblematic of the Duchess’s “swivel-eyed behaviour”.
The Duchess of Sussex sat down with Harper’s Bazaar writer Kaitlyn Greenidge for a profile at a friend’s residence in New York.
The conversation took place for the American publication’s December 2025 edition, which showcases the Duchess on its front page.
Ms Greenidge described their meeting: “We’re in a grand brownstone on the Upper East Side that belongs to one of Meghan’s friends. When I enter, the house manager announces, ‘Meghan, Duchess of Sussex,’ even though we appear to be the only other two people in the house.”
However, while Meghan continues to hold her Royal designation despite stepping back from Royal Family duties five years ago, observers were unimpressed with how it was deployed and voiced disapproval across social platforms.
“A borrowed Upper East Side brownstone, and the only ‘crowd’ is a bemused journalist from Harper’s Bazaar. Yet here comes the house manager, piping up like a Buckingham Palace footman: “Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. ” To a couple of people… Not a ballroom full of dignitaries. Was she trying to turn a casual chat into a full-blown state entrance?”.
Mr Cohen added: “Markle’s out here cosplaying a duchess in someone’s living room, pathetically clinging to that ‘Duchess of Sussex’ label like it’s her last Birkin, a slap to the beloved late Queen’s memory.
“Laughter is the kindest reaction to such swivel-eyed behaviour. If she wanted to be announced like royalty, she had already burned down the stage.
“Next time, try a doorbell. The crowd and crowns aren’t coming back; it’s just embarrassing echoes in an empty room.”
A separate expert suggested the Duchess violated protocol, noting that proper etiquette would have dictated the journalist should have been formally introduced, not Meghan herself.
Veteran Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams, who is also an etiquette expert and former editor of The International Who’s Who, told the Daily Mail: “I have often felt that Meghan took to heart Oscar Wilde’s dictum, ‘To love oneself is the beginning of a lifetime’s romance’.
“So this breaks protocol. It also makes her look silly.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.the-express.com ’
