Meghan, Duchess of Sussex was caught on camera having an awkward exchange with royal aides over a bouquet of flowers.
The polarizing Sussexes returned to the UK before Queen Elizabeth II unexpectedly passed away and have joined the royal family in mourning the late monarch.
Prince William and Kate Middleton extended an olive branch to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle by inviting them to greet mourners at Queen Elizabeth’s memorial.
In his first speech as the monarch, King Charles also sent his good wishes to the Los Angeles-based couple, who have publicly criticized the royal family.
Their viral interview with Oprah Winfrey divided the public and Prince Harry and Markle have become polarizing figures in the United States and the United Kingdom.
The viral video of Markle’s exchange with the royal aides over the flowers handed to her has unsurprisingly sparked debate between her fans and detractors.
Meghan Markle appeared to decline an offer from royal aides to hold her flowers
A video shows Meghan Markle politely declining an offer from a royal aide to hold a bouquet for her in an awkward exchange.
A royal news reporter, R.S Locke quotes what he claims the Duchess said in the exchange “I told them I’d place them over there so it’s OK. Thank you. I appreciate it though.”
Another video shows Markle handing over the flowers to an aide after Prince Harry who himself handed the flowers spoke to his wife, seemingly to explain why the flowers are being handed over.
“The big guns had to step in when Meghan refused to let go of the flowers the first aide tried to take from her as she herself wanted to walk them over to the other tributes,” a person tweeted alongside the video.
Meghan Markle fans and haters debate the viral video
The videos of the Duchess of Sussex with the flowers have garnered millions of views across social media and opinion is split on her interaction with the royal aide.
Detractors of the former actress claim that it was a publicity stunt and accused her of tipping the American media.
“Bec rumour swirling that she had called US media & told them her & [Harry] were doing a walk about so needed certain pics! It turns out POW got wind of it & called [Harry] to take control from [Markle] making the funeral about herself. Did u notice how uneasy she looked? Caught out! Sec time now!” a person wrote on Twitter.
Another Markle detractor referenced her controversial photo from her visit to Uvalde, Texas, after the tragic mass shooting.
“She probably wanted her “Texas moment”, vile as she is. It’s [rumored] that she tipped some American media about “her” walkabout, hence PoW had to intercept and “invite” her to be with them. That’s the only way they could control what was happening. Allegedly,” the person wrote on Twitter.
Others defended the American Duchess suggesting that she was unfamiliar with royal protocol.
“Can’t believe the Meghan bashing has started already, it’s the first time she’s experienced this and was doing her best she probably promised to lay the flowers down herself and that’s what she was going to do till told by Harry it’s alright to pass them over,” said her defender.
Another observer wondered why the Duchess wasn’t allowed to walk the flower over herself.
“That would have been nice of Meghan to walk them over I would have expected her to, I wonder why would the aid took them off her?”
Another observer of the video claimed that the flowers were taken from her for health and safety reasons.
“She probably didn’t understand that the flowers are taken off them for safety purposes. After all there could be a small explosive device, nerve gas, a poisonous insect, any number of things, concealed in them,” the Twitter user added.
The brief moment regarding the flowers doesn’t seem to have affected the royal’s schedule despite blowing up on social media.