Royal fans criticized the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for holding hands as they left the service in honor of Queen Elizabeth II. Less than a week after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, members of the royal family walked behind the queen’s coffin on Wednesday during a procession from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where the coffin will lie in state until the funeral on September 19. The royal family remained at Westminster Hall for a 20-minute service before exiting the building and being escorted from the premises. Footage of the service was shared on the royal family’s official YouTube account. However, after the service, some critics began calling out Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for holding hands as they left the service. Some royal observers have criticized Meghan Markle and Prince Harry for their public displays of affection. NARIMAN EL-MOFTY/Getty Images “The Royal Family leaves our beloved Queen in Westminster Hall with grace and dignity, except for Harry and Meghan who just have to hold hands like two teenagers in love. Really getting on my nerves,” one social media user wrote. . Another added: “Can’t they hold their hands at their sides for two seconds to mourn the Queen (as if Meghan cares anyway)?” Zara Tindall and Mike Tindall at a service in honor of the Queen on Wednesday. WPA Pool/Getty Images Soon after, other social media users came to the couple’s defense, pointing out that other members of the royal family had engaged in similar displays of affection. Pictures showed Zara Tindall, Princess Anne’s daughter, holding hands with her husband, Mike Tindall, during the service. People also remembered Prince Philip’s funeral in April 2021, when Princess Beatrice was photographed holding hands with her husband, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, as she left the funeral. Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi attend Prince Philip’s funeral in 2021. CHRIS JACKSON/Getty Images Representatives for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment. The couple faced media backlash during their trip to New York in September 2021, despite doing some of the same things as Prince William and Kate Middleton during their 2014 trip, according to with Insider’s Samantha Grindell. Prince Harry and Markle were criticized for wearing black to visit the 9/11 museum in New York – despite this being a common practice – while observers praised Middleton for wearing a bright pink coat on her previous trip. The Daily Mail wrote that Middleton was “fighting the gloomy weather” with her outfit. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle during Trooping the Color in 2019. Samir Hussein/Samir Hussein/WireImage The Daily Mail also applauded Prince William and Middleton for staying at the Carlyle Hotel during their trip, writing in the headline: ‘Kate lands with a bang: Pregnant Duchess arrives at Diana’s favored New York hotel as the royal couple touch the Big Apple. .” When Prince Harry and Markle stayed at the same hotel during their visit, the publication wrote: “Royal couple leave kids in Los Angeles to enjoy drinks at fabulous bar inside their $1,300-a-night Carlyle Hotel to begin the three-day visit to New York.” Insider’s Mikhaila Friel previously reported that Prince Harry and Markle are often scrutinized for doing the same things as their royal counterparts, largely because of Markle’s race. According to royal expert Kristen Meinzer, the press may be focusing on Markle because she doesn’t look like the rest of the aristocracy. “Unlike them, she’s American, a self-made woman, and black,” she told Friel. “Unlike most of them, he has a history of working hard and speaking out about the kinds of human rights they’re afraid to touch for fear of sounding ‘controversial.’
