Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's most cringe moments! From their Polo 'flop' on Netflix to stony-faced renditions of national anthem and sharp lessons in royal protocol on Buckingham Palace balcony

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have had their fair share of uncomfortable moments since their relationship blossomed in the public eye around a decade ago.

From awkward moments in their Netflix docuseries, to very sharp lessons in royal protocol on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, public appearances haven’t always been smooth sailing for the couple.

And in their latest mishap, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have received scathing reviews for their newest TV endeavour – part of their £80million deal with Netflix.

‘Polo’ has received two stars or less out of five across the board, with Prince Harry, 40, only appearing a handful of times throughout the five episodes, and Meghan, 43, featuring even less.

But there have been far more uncomfortable moments in the couple’s past, including an excruciating interview their Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, which aired in 2022.

In the clip, Meghan dramatically recounts her first encounter with the late Queen to the bemusement of her husband, who appears to shy away from the exchange.

And in another, back in 2019, the Duke of Sussex had to instruct Meghan to ‘turn around’ while they were on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the Trooping of the Colour. 

Here, FEMAIL rounds up the most toe-curling moments we’ve seen from the couple.

Harry gives Meghan a lesson in royal protocol

Back in 2019, one particular moment from the Buckingham Palace balcony raised eyebrows during the traditional Trooping of the Colour for the late Queen’s birthday

Back in 2019, one particular moment from the Buckingham Palace balcony raised eyebrows during the traditional Trooping of the Colour for the late Queen’s birthday.

The Duke of Sussex, then 34, was filmed talking to his wife Meghan while she was stood in front of him with senior members of the Royal Family in June five years’ ago, when the couple were still working royals. 

At one point the Duchess turned back to speak to her husband twice in quick succession, prompting Prince Harry to utter two brief phrases in response. The exchange sparked widespread speculation on social media over what was said. 

Analysing the footage, MailOnline’s lip reading expert concluded Prince Harry said to Meghan, ‘yes, that’s right’ when she looked at him the first time, before adding: ‘Turn around… Look,’ when she turned back to him a short time later.

The sharp exchange came moments before the start of the national anthem. The Royal Family traditionally face forwards out to the crowds while the anthem is played.

Back in 2019, one particular moment from the Buckingham Palace balcony raised eyebrows during the traditional Trooping of the Colour for the late Queen’s birthday

Dramatic retelling of meeting the late Queen 

Another uncomfortable moment emerged in 2022, when Harry and Meghan released their Netflix docuseries ‘Harry & Meghan’.

During an interview, a giggling Duchess appeared to mock her own efforts at following royal protocol as she recounted the ‘surreal’ moment she first met the late Queen.

But the deeply exaggerated curtsey she performed didn’t appear to impress Prince Harry, who looked away – and an awkward silence fell between the couple.

The Duchess of Sussex had compared her first encounter with Her Majesty to a lowbrow themed dinner at America’s ‘Medieval Times’. 

Meghan recounts the first moment she was introduced to the late Queen while husband Harry looks on as part of the couple’s Netflix docuseries

Meghan appears to perform a deeply exaggerated curtsey recounting what it was like when she first met the late Queen, while her husband Harry watches on

Recounting the ‘intense’ moment, she performed a deep curtsey as husband Harry watched on, stone-faced, before he glanced off camera appearing awkward. 

The pair then chuckled afterwards.

Body language expert Judi James said at the time that the moment seemed ‘a step too far’ for Prince Harry, who ‘quickly drops his head down to perform a cut off ritual that partially hides his face’.

 She said this suggests ‘some discomfort at this point’.

God Save the King?

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stood for God Save The King at a Nigerian charity event

Recently, the royal couple raised eyebrows while attending a charity gala in Nigeria.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stood for God Save The King in May – in the same week Charles ‘snubbed’ seeing his son on his whistle-stop trip to the UK. 

But the stern-looking Sussexes just stood and stared straight ahead as trumpets blared the British national anthem as military personnel saluted around them.

The moment made for rather awkward photographs, with the royals opting not to join in or react to the moment at a lunch with the Nigerian chief of defence staff Christopher Musa. 

Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, received gifts at a reception in Nigeria

The event came just hours after Harry had left London feeling ‘deeply stung’ after he said his father was ‘too busy’ to meet up with him during his three-day stay in the capital to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Invictus Games.     

Sources close to Harry’s camp said they were bemused that the King did not see his son with the Duke’s spokesman confirming his ‘father’s diary commitments’ had got in the way at the prospect of any reunion. 

Speculation had been growing there would be a reunion between the Duke of Sussex and his cancer-stricken father during his three-day stay in London.

Nelson Mandela’s grandson slam’s Meghan’s claim

Another uncomfortable moment came back in 2022, when Nelson Mandela’s grandson slammed Meghan for suggesting her marriage sparked scenes of joy in South Africa reminiscent of the 1990 release of the legendary anti-apartheid campaigner after 27 years in jail.

Zwelivelile ‘Mandla’ Mandela told MailOnline: ‘It can never be compared to the celebration of someone’s wedding.’

Mr Mandela has said he was ‘surprised’ at her remarks in The Cut magazine when she claimed that three years ago a cast member of the Lion King had made the comparison between her royal wedding and Madiba’s historic walk to freedom.

He said: ‘Madiba’s celebration was based on overcoming 350 years of colonialism with 60 years of a brutal apartheid regime in South Africa. So It cannot be equated to as the same.’

Referring to Meghan, he said: ’Every day there are people who want to be Nelson Mandela, either comparing themselves with him or wanting to emulate him.

‘But before people can regard themselves as Nelson Mandelas, they should be looking into the work that he did and be able to be champions and advocates of the work that he himself championed’.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet Graca Machel, widow of the late Nelson Mandela, on the last day of their tour in Africa

Far from the front row

In January, an uncomfortable clip showing the Duke and Duchess of Sussex taking their seats at the premiere of the Bob Marley: One Love biopic surfaced on social media.

The couple attended the glitzy event at the Carib Theatre, during which they chatted with anti-monarchist Jamaican prime minister Andrew Holness, at the start of the year.

The video shows the former royals being shown to their seats, which are several rows back, and they appear to be slightly bothered by the location.

While Meghan appeared to be in good spirits, her husband Harry seemed downcast

A clip showed the couple making their way to their seats – which appeared to be several rows back – at the film premiere

The clip appears to show Harry looking slightly downcast as he makes his way to his seat, following his wife. However, Meghan is seen smiling as she holds up her large gown and makes her way down the cinema aisles.

The pair’s appearance at the biopic caused further controversy due to Meghan and Harry’s decision to pose with prime minister Andrew Holness and his wife Juliet.

Andrew previously said his country is ‘moving on’ from the British monarchy. Harry’s father, King Charles, is head of state of Jamaica.

Meghan interrupted by aide at glitzy Variety gala

Another notable moment took place in 2023, when Meghan was awkwardly interrupted as she posed up a storm for the paparazzi at a glitzy LA gala.

The former actress took to Variety’s Power of Women event and stole the show on the black carpet in a sleek £1,120 evening dress from New York-based brand Proenza Schouler.

But the mother-of-two was awkwardly interrupted as a woman who appeared to be an aide tried to move her out of the limelight.

Looking eager to move the Duchess along, the woman tried to get Meghan’s attention – but when Prince Harry’s wife seemed unfazed by her attempt, she uttered: ‘That’s fine’. 

Meghan looked effortlessly elegant as she continued to work the limelight – confidently titling her head in different angels to ensure a range of shots.

The mother-of-two was awkwardly interrupted while posing up a storm for the paparazzi 

In an attempt to move the Duchess on, an aide tapped her on the shoulder as she smiled for the cameras 

Meghan asks woman not to pose next to Harry for Polo photo

You may remember this uncomfortable moment from April this year, when the Duchess of Sussex asked a woman not to pose next to Prince Harry for a picture after he won a polo tournament. 

The Duchess had ordered people around the stage after handing Harry a trophy at a glitzy charity polo match in Miami, Florida. 

She requested the well-dressed woman in a white dress to move to the middle of the group away from Harry, insisting she be in the middle of the huddle next to her husband with the royal fan beside her.

The exchange came as a woman tried to pose next to Harry, only for Meghan to squeeze her to the middle of the group as she insisted on standing beside her husband 

The group eventually found the space to celebrate on stage  

Moments before, Meghan planted a loving kiss on her royal husband to celebrate his win – with a Netflix camera crew in tow to capture the moment for the Duke’s ‘Polo’ series.

The awkward exchange lasted for several moments as Harry kept his arm squarely around his wife, leading others to shuffle around them to find a place. 

After Meghan insisted on keeping her place, the woman was forced to duck under the trophy to find her spot on stage, before saying something to Meghan. 

Harry appeared red-faced during the exchange – although this may have been more due to his efforts on the blistering hot day as he led his team to victory at the Royal

Duchess struggled with royal aides over flowers for late Queen

In the days after the late Queen died in 2022, members of the Royal Family had taken the time to greet well-wishers across the nation who were mourning the loss of the monarch.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had joined the Prince and Princess of Wales for one walkabout in Windsor, and it sparked a somewhat awkward moment.

A video clip shows the Duchess working with royal aides to collect floral tributes – with fans spotting an apparently fleeting disagreement over what should happen to the bouquets. 

Meghan Markle suffered her own awkward moment as she struggled with a royal aide over floral bouquets during a walkabout in Windsor after the Queen’s death 

When approached by an aide who wanted to take the growing number of floral tributes from her, footage shows the royal initially said she would place them at the gates herself.

A second aide then asked again moments later and the Duchess politely thanked them for their help and eventually handed over the blooms. 

Royal fans had speculated that Meghan may not know that aides wanted to take the flowers from her for her own safety. 

Some pointed out that the bouquets could contain dangerous substances or explosives, which is why royals should not carry them. 

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