Meghan Markle slammed for ‘cringeworthy and swivel-eyed behaviour’ | Royal | News

Meghan Markle’s latest fiasco over being announced by a member of staff when simply meeting with a journalist for an interview was scrutinised by a royal commentator who dubbed the moment “cringeworthy” and a prime example of the Duchess’s “swivel-eyed behaviour”. The Duchess of Sussex met with Harper’s Bazaar’s Kaitlyn Greenidge for an interview at one of her pals’ homes in New York.

The interview was conducted for the US magazine’s December 2025 issue, which features the Duchess on its cover. Ms Greenidge wrote of their encounter: “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.” But despite Meghan still retaining her royal title even after quitting the Royal Family five years ago, fans were not impressed with its use and were quite critical on social media.

Now, a royal commentator spoke about the incident and mocked Meghan for “cosplaying a duchess in someone’s living room”.

Lee Cohen, a US-based columnist/royal and foreign policy commentator, told the Express: “This is so cringeworthy that it could be another South Park episode.

“It’s the kind of tone-deaf, ego-stroking nonsense that makes you wonder if she’s auditioning for a role in her own bad fantasy fiction.

“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.”

Another expert said the Duchess’s announcement broke protocol because it should have been the journalist who was announced and not the other way around.

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.”