Prince Harry Reflects on Awkward Moment with Kate and Meghan

Prince Harry has shared a memorable moment from the 2018 Trooping the Color event, where he noted an uncomfortable silence between Duchess Kate and Meghan during Meghan’s first appearance at the celebration. He described the atmosphere as almost swallowing them whole.

In his memoir, *Spare*, Harry recounted how he and Meghan returned from their honeymoon just in time for the official birthday celebration of Queen Elizabeth II in June. He pointed out that Trooping the Color marked one of their earliest public outings as a married couple.

Harry observed that everyone seemed cheerful initially. However, when Kate asked Meghan what she thought of her first Trooping the Color, things took a turn. Meghan playfully remarked about the vibrant celebrations, but, as Harry put it, “a yawning silence threatened to swallow us all whole.”

Interestingly, while Meghan doesn’t delve deeply into this awkward moment in her own writings, she did mention taking her first royal trip with the Queen shortly afterward, which led to a close friendship between them.

A few weeks later, Harry mentioned that the four of them—himself, Meghan, Kate, and William—attempted to address the tension that had emerged. There seemed to be lingering feelings over holiday gifts and previous misunderstandings, like comments about “baby brain” during Meghan’s pregnancy and the swap of seating arrangements at their wedding.

Harry reflected that voicing complaints didn’t resolve anything for them. They seemed to get nowhere, he noted. The family dynamics were certainly complicated, to say the least.

The couple last appeared at Trooping the Color in 2019, before moving to California in early 2020. They watched from a distance during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in 2022 but did not participate with the main royal family.

This year’s Trooping the Color kicked off with a lively parade featuring King Charles III, Queen Camilla, and other royals, while Harry and Meghan remained at home and were, once again, not invited.

While the royal festivities carried on, Harry participated in an Invictus event remotely from Germany, expressing his support for the athletes involved in the games he founded.

It seems that family gatherings continue to present their challenges, and some tensions remain unresolved even as the celebrations go on.