Meghan Markle faces fierce criticism from Jeremy Kyle over Netflix curtsy moment
Meghan Markle has come under renewed criticism after TalkTV presenter Jeremy Kyle singled out a moment from her Netflix documentary with Prince Harry as, in his view, one of the lowest points of her public treatment of the Royal Family.
Kyle made the remarks while discussing the continuing tensions between the Sussexes and the rest of the Royal Family, alongside Dickie Arbiter, who served as press spokesman for Queen Elizabeth II.
Jeremy Kyle takes aim at Meghan Markle
The discussion centred on reports that Prince Harry and Meghan were considering an apology to Prince William and Princess Catherine over comments made during their 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The claims suggested the couple had come to regret some of the things they said publicly and recognised that they had gone too far.
A source quoted by the Daily Express said Harry had been angry with his family at the time and supported Meghan, but that the couple now understood that some of their comments had been a “low blow”.
However, the reported apology plans have since been disputed. PEOPLE reported on October 7 that a source close to Harry and Meghan denied that the couple were planning to apologise, describing the Express report as inaccurate.
The controversy nevertheless brought attention back to one of the most widely discussed moments from the couple’s Netflix series, Harry & Meghan.
For Kyle, that scene stood out above the others.
“Do you know what I thought was her most disgusting and lowest blow?”
Kyle was referring to Meghan’s recreation of her first curtsy to the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The curtsy scene that sparked controversy
In the Netflix documentary, Meghan described the first time she learned that she would need to curtsy when meeting the Queen.
She recalled being in a car with Harry, who asked whether she knew how to curtsy. Meghan said she initially thought he was joking because the situation seemed so unfamiliar to her.
She then demonstrated what she remembered doing when she met Queen Elizabeth II, lowering herself into an exaggerated curtsy while spreading her arms.
With a laugh, she said:
“Pleasure to meet you, Your Majesty.”
Meghan then questioned whether she had performed the gesture correctly and described the experience as intense.
The scene became a subject of discussion when the documentary was released in December 2022. Contemporary coverage also focused on Harry’s reaction as Meghan recreated the moment.
Kyle strongly objected to Meghan’s decision to reenact the encounter in a humorous way.
He argued that the late Queen, whom Meghan had met as a member of the Royal Family, should have been treated with greater respect.
The presenter described the scene as Meghan’s “most disgusting and lowest blow” and said he believed it revealed something significant about her attitude towards the late monarch.
His comments were particularly pointed because the scene involved Queen Elizabeth II, who died in September 2022, only months before the documentary was released.
Dickie Arbiter also criticised the scene
Dickie Arbiter agreed with Kyle’s assessment.
The former royal press spokesman said he found Meghan’s portrayal of the curtsy deeply uncomfortable to watch and described it as “revolting”.
Arbiter also drew attention to Prince Harry’s expression while Meghan was recreating the moment.
He said Harry appeared uncomfortable sitting beside her during the scene.
Arbiter went on to speculate about whether Harry had objected to Meghan’s comments privately, saying he doubted that he had challenged her either during the filming or afterwards.
Those remarks reflected the broader debate that surrounded the documentary, particularly over the way Harry and Meghan discussed private experiences involving the Royal Family.
The criticism comes back to the 2021 Oprah interview
Kyle’s comments were made in the context of the much wider fallout from Harry and Meghan’s 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey.
During that interview, Meghan said that while she was pregnant with Archie, there had been “concerns and conversations” about how dark his skin might be when he was born. She did not identify the person involved, saying that revealing their identity would be damaging.
Harry also declined to identify the person who had allegedly been involved in the conversation.
After the interview aired, Oprah clarified that Harry had specifically told her that neither Queen Elizabeth II nor Prince Philip had been involved in those conversations.
The revelation became one of the most controversial parts of the interview and contributed to the continuing strain between the Sussexes and other members of the Royal Family.
The question of whether Harry and Meghan now regret discussing those matters publicly has resurfaced repeatedly, particularly as reports about their relationship with Prince William and Princess Catherine continue to circulate.
For now, however, reports of a planned apology remain contested, with different sources offering conflicting accounts.
Meghan’s curtsy remains a divisive moment
The Netflix scene has similarly continued to divide opinion.
Meghan presented the memory as an amusing example of how unfamiliar royal protocol initially was to her. Critics, including Kyle and Arbiter, interpreted the same moment very differently, arguing that recreating a formal gesture toward Queen Elizabeth II in an exaggerated and joking manner was disrespectful.
The disagreement ultimately comes down to how viewers interpret Meghan’s intention in the scene.
What is clear is that the moment remains one of the most discussed exchanges from Harry & Meghan, particularly because it placed a highly personal recollection of Queen Elizabeth II alongside the couple’s broader account of their difficult relationship with the Royal Family.