To mark her daughter Princess Lilibet’s fourth birthday, Meghan Markle posted a video of herself twerking in a maternity suite.
As the Duchess of Sussex shimmied to Starrkeisha’s The Baby Momma Dance, Prince Harry is seen dad-dancing across the hospital floor.
‘I assumed it was AI generated,’ Richard Eden, the Daily Mail’s Diary Editor, said on the latest episode of Palace Confidential. ‘I couldn’t believe it was them but it is!
‘It’s just so unusual, isn’t it? It’s not what you expect to see from members of the royal family.
‘If the Princess of Wales ever posts a video like this, I’m giving up royal commentary altogether,’ he added later on in the episode.
‘What’s important for the Royal Family is dignity. I think you do have to maintain some dignity and decorum.
‘Yes, that might sound a bit stuffy or whatever but what are the Royals for? Originally they were there to lead us into battle, they’re there to represent us so you expect some dignity.
‘It would be the same for an American President. I don’t want to see videos of Donald Trump twerking in the same way I don’t want to see members of the Royal Family twerking.’
To mark her daughter’s birthday, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, posted a video of her and husband Prince Harry dancing in the maternity suite
Richard Eden, the Daily Mail’s Diary Editor, reacts to the twerking video on the latest episode of Palace Confidential
Richard then goes on to point out that this is ‘not a first’ for the couple who stepped back from frontline royal duties in 2020.
He recalled various examples of their ‘undignified’ moments such as the Duchess ‘squatting on the Ellen DeGeneres programme’, the Duke ‘joking around with James Corden’ and Meghan’s ‘exaggerated curtsy’ on their bombshell Netflix series.
Richard stars on the hit YouTube panel show alongside Rebecca English, the Daily Mail’s Royal Editor.
This week, the unrivalled royal reporting duo were also joined by Palace Confidential’s executive producer Luke Blackall.
Having covered the royal beat for the Daily Mail since 2004, Rebecca had her own thoughts on the twerking video.
She said: ‘Queen Elizabeth was able to do things that were amusing and funny and slightly out of her usual box.’
Rebecca lists the late monarch’s appearance with James Bond at the London 2012 Olympic Games as well as the skit she filmed with the Obamas and her grandson Prince Harry to promote the Invictus Games.
‘But they were done in a dignified way,’ Rebecca added. ‘They were chosen very carefully and in a very very controlled manner and not done very often as well so when she did them, they had much more effect.’
Richard (left) was joined on the show by Rebecca English (centre), the Daily Mail’s Royal Editor, and executive producer Luke Blackall (right)
The Duke of Sussex makes an appearance on The Late Late Show with James Corden
Meghan demonstrates how she curtsied the first time she met Queen Elizabeth II
The couple’s Netflix series Harry and Meghan released in 2022
Directing a question at Richard, the show’s host Luke said: ‘There’s always been conspiracy theories around Meghan’s pregnancies and children. Do you think it will quell those conspiracy theorists by releasing videos like this?’
‘I do seriously wonder if Meghan has wanted to address the conspiracy theories because look what’s happened recently,’ Richard replied.
‘She published that mood board on Instagram where she had a picture of her, she wasn’t wearing many clothes at all, with her huge baby bump.
‘And soon after we have seen this video as well so I think that is possibly addressing those conspiracy theories.’
He continued: ‘The point is, Meghan has broadcast this to mark the fourth birthday of her daughter, but it’s not about her daughter, it’s all about her.
‘And where has she broadcast it? The Instagram page she created to promote her business. It’s all commercial, it’s all about making money. She really is trying to commercialise those children.’
Rebecca agreed, adding: ‘I think a lot of people will find this very hypocritical. I have to say, after my initial shock the whole South Park Worldwide Privacy Tour sprung to mind.
‘Meghan has always said that one of the reasons she didn’t like being a member of the Royal Family is because she felt she was expected to deliver up pictures of her children or of them in private family time regularly, I would argue that that is not the case.
‘She says, “If I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it on my own terms”.
Rebecca English, the Daily Mail’s Royal Editor, said she ‘cannot comprehend’ why Meghan would post such a video of such a ‘uniquely private moment’
Rebeccca, who has covered the royal beat for the Daily Mail since 2004, said: ‘After my initial shock the whole South Park Worldwide Privacy Tour sprung to mind’
In an episode of South Park, Meghan and Harry are depicted as a red-headed prince and his wife from Canada who become frustrated with public attention after a family feud
‘I’m a reporter, not a columnist, so I try to report the news and let people make up their own mind,’ Rebecca said.
‘But speaking as an individual, that is such a uniquely private moment between you and your partner.
‘I can understand them wanting to do a fun video around it, the baby was late, you do all sorts when that happens such as eating hot curries and going out for a walk.
‘But to then share that with three million followers on Instagram and to know that is going to be spread around the world, I simply cannot comprehend the thinking of that. I can’t understand why you would do that.’
‘Spare a thought for Meghan’s father,’ Richard interjected. ‘Remember that Meghan took legal action because Thomas Markle dared to make public a letter which he had received from his daughter.
‘On the one hand, we have got her obsessed with privacy and refusing even to disclose the names of the godparents of Prince Archie and then releasing intimate videos like this on the day that her daughter was born.
‘To me, it smacks of hypocrisy.’
For more fascinating insights from the Mail’s team of unrivalled experts, watch the latest episode of Palace Confidential in full now and subscribe to the Daily Mail Royals YouTube channel.
