Just days after returning back to England from their loving honeymoon, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were right back to royal duties and in the spotlight for Trooping the Colour.
The couple joined the rest of the Royal Family to celebrate the Queen's birthday in 2018, reports the Mirror. The late monarch's official birthday is considered one of the biggest events in The Firm's calendar.
Meghan donned a baby pink dress and matching hat, and stood proudly next to her husband Harry, who was dressed in his military uniform. While the new Duchess of Sussex had carried out a number of engagements ahead of their wedding, this was Meghan's first appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony.
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And it was plain to see for everyone that the amazement of the experience was painted across her beaming face. While Meghan was seen speaking to Kate, Prince William and then-Princess of Wales, Camilla, Harry claims that things were far more awkward behind-the-scenes.
Writing in his memoir Spare, Harry claims that once the family stepped back inside, Kate asked Meghan what she thought of her first Trooping the Colour. Meghan simply replied: "Colourful."
Harry writes: "A yawning silence threatened to swallow us all whole".
The Prince has described his version of fallouts and tensions within his family in the lead up to his wedding in his tell-all memoir - which likely contributed to awkward feelings at the Trooping the Colour.
Harry has accused Kate and William of "stereotyping" his wife, saying their behaviour created a barrier. The Prince also said his brother described Meghan as "difficult".
He also describes a row between Kate and Meghan at a bridesmaid dress fitting in the lead up the wedding, and said Kate was funny with Meghan when she asked to borrow lip gloss.
In an ITV interview with Tom Bradby to promote the book, Harry admitted that his brother and sister-in-law didn't get on with his wife "from the get-go", and made the surprising admission that the couple were huge Suits fans.
When asked why the relationship got off to a bad start, Harry noted that there were "lots of different reasons".
He goes on: "I don't think they were ever expecting me to get into a relationship with someone like Meghan, who had, you know, a very successful career.
"There was a lot of stereotyping that was happening, that I was guilty of as well, at the beginning."
Pushed on what he meant by that, Harry continues: "American actress, and that was playing out in the British press in the media at the time as well.
"I had that in the back of my mind, and some of the things that my brother and sister-in-law – some of the way that they were acting or behaving definitely felt to me as though unfortunately that stereotyping was causing a bit of a barrier to them really sort of, you know, introducing or welcoming her in."
And when pushed on specific reasonings, Harry added: "Well, American actress, divorced, biracial - there's all different parts to that and what that can mean but if you are, like a lot of my family do, if you are reading the press, the British tabloids, [Yeah] at the same time as living the life, then there is a tendency where you could actually end up living in the tabloid bubble rather than the actual reality."
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