The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have not always fared well in the public eye, despite their numerous attempts to regain control of the narrative. Harry and Meghan's blunders have ranged from the mildly excruciating to the vastly more cringe-inducing, such as the numerous wild disclosures in the duke's memoir, Spare.
The couple, who moved back to Britain after six years in the US in late August, have already found themselves at loggerheads with the King and received a frosty welcome from the public at large. To mark their return, we have looked back on some of Harry and Meghan's most embarrassing public gaffes.
Balcony tiff and microphone mishap
Harry was caught on camera appearing to tell his new wife to "turn around" as the Royal Family gathered on Buckingham Palace balcony for the Trooping the Colour in June 2019. As members of the Firm awaited the national anthem and royal flypast, Meghan turned her head back to talk, prompting a curt response from Harry, who instructed her to "turn around" and "look" forward. She then turned around again to seemingly mouth a response, out of sight of lip-readers.
Another relatively small fry embarrassing moment was captured at Kevin Costner's One805 LIVE! Charity fundraiser in Santa Barbara in 2023. Meghan and Harry took to the stage to present an award at the event, but the duchess slightly overshot her cue, reaching out to take the microphone from another speaker, who was not prepared to relinquish it. Meghan awkwardly put her hand on the woman's arm before moving aside.
Throwback dance and talk show antics
Meghan and Harry shared a throwback video of themselves grooving to the 'Baby Mama Dance' by Mic Drop Mama in a hospital delivery room to induce labour to mark Princess Lilibet's fourth birthday in June 2025. The duchess said they resorted to the viral trend after her due date passed and other methods, including walking, spicy food and acupuncture failed.
Shortly after the Sussexes relocated to the US, Meghan made her first major daytime talk show appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in November 2021. Alongside sharing updates on life in California, she took part in a hidden-camera segment where she interacted with unsuspecting street vendors, drank from a baby bottle, ate like a chipmunk and sang "I'm a kitten".
HRH title controversy
In an embarrassingly revealing incident during one of Meghan's many podcast appearances while based in the States, it emerged she had gifted a friend a card bearing the "HRH" (Her Royal Highness) title. During an April 2025 episode of The Jamie Kern Lima Show, the host showed a gift basket she had received from Meghan alongside the note: "With the Compliments of HRH The Duchess of Sussex".
This is despite Queen Elizabeth II forbidding the couple from using their HRH titles after stepping down as working royals in 2020. Forced to save face, the Sussexes insisted she did not actively use the title, and that the card was a private note included with a personal gift.
