Just how much meaning can a curtsy have?
For Meghan Markle, it's a gesture representing a deep history with Queen Elizabeth II.
And people noticed.
After Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as working members of the royal family
in 2020, they made it abundantly clear that they bore no ill will towards Prince Harry's
grandmother by making a grand gesture: When their daughter was born in June 2021, they
named her Lilibet, a childhood nickname of Queen Elizabeth.
Even so, Meghan and Harry's bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, which aired a few months
before Lilibet's birth, undeniably put a strain on their relationship with the royal family.
The couple accused an unnamed royal of making racist comments…
"There's a conversation with you…"
"With Harry."
"About how dark your baby is going to be?"
…and also alleged that Kate Middleton made Meghan cry ahead of her wedding to Harry.
The queen herself released a statement that seemed designed to cast doubt on the couple's accusations.
People quoted it as saying,
"While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed
by the family privately."
But Elizabeth also let it be known that she had no interest in cutting Harry and his family
out of her life completely.
The statement continued,
"Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members."
Because of her health, the queen was unable to attend many of the public events for her
2022 Platinum Jubilee celebration.
But Us Weekly reports she did make time to meet Lilibet for the first time.
And Lilibet's name wouldn't be Meghan's last tribute to Her Majesty.
At Queen Elizabeth II's procession to lie in state at Westminster Hall, Meghan Markle
was photographed curtsying in front of the queen's coffin in a final farewell.
The gesture moved many on social media.
One viewer wrote,
"Meghan Markle did that deep curtsy in heels then easily got up and walked away.
Respect to her and her knees."
Another tweeted,
"My girl hit that curtsy.
So classy, elegant, and respectful."
Some of Meghan's critics even begrudgingly offered praise.
One wrote,
"I'm not the biggest fan of Meghan Markle but fair play, that was a damn good curtsy."
The curtsy seemed to be a callback to Meghan's first encounter with the late queen.
In her interview with Oprah Winfrey, the Duchess of Sussex recalled how Prince Harry didn't
think to ask her if she knew how to curtsy until she was moments away from meeting his grandmother.
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, gave Meghan a crash course in how to properly curtsy.
You'd think that would be an unforgettable moment, but…
"Apparently, I did a very deep curtsy — and I don't remember it."
The curtsy also perhaps called back to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wedding in 2018,
when Page Six reported there was some chatter that Meghan had disrespected Her Majesty by
failing to curtsy in her presence.
However, people on social media pointed out that the online outrage was misguided.
Just before Meghan dipped down in her wedding gown, the camera panned to an overhead shot
that made her curtsy difficult to see.
Like her sister-in law, Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle has used accessories to show her reverence
for Queen Elizabeth.
People notes that for a luncheon at Buckingham Palace, the Princess of Wales wore a pair
of earrings and strands of pearls that the queen herself regularly wore.
According to Vogue, Meghan chose to wear earrings with a similar significance for the queen's
lying-in-state service at Westminster Hall.
Her diamond and pearl earrings were reportedly a gift from the monarch just before their
first public engagement as a duo.
According to Town & Country, the two visited Cheshire in 2018 for a number of events, including
a memorial service for the victims of the Grenfell Tower fire.
Markle recalled to Oprah what it was like to ride with the queen, discussing the blanket
the queen would put over her knees.
"It was chilly, and she was like, 'Meghan, come on,' and put it over my knees as well."
The actor also reportedly earned the queen's respect in 2019 by embarking on a tour of
Morocco with Prince Harry as she approached her eighth month of pregnancy.
A palace insider told Vanity fair,
"The queen is amazed by the duchess's energy and stamina given that she is so heavily pregnant."