On Wednesday, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex joined other members of the royal family for a short service in honor of the late Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Hall. The duchess mostly paid her respects with curtains, and the duke openly showed his grief at his grandmother’s death. However, as Harry and Meghan left the service behind the Duke’s brother Prince William and his wife Kate Middleton, they chose to hold hands in a show of support and affection that has since sparked mixed reactions. While some praised Harry and Meghan for the gesture, many others criticized the Duke and Duchess on the basis that the hand-holding was “inappropriate” for the occasion. “Meghan Markle holds Harry’s hand in church! Ignorant and classless,” one person claimed, while another critic said: “As the family officially walks away from the Queen’s coffin, Meghan holds Harry’s hand! How inappropriate! She has no idea how to behave on an official occasion and her behavior is disrespectful to the Queen and the Royal Family.” Since then there has been an outpouring of support from people coming to the couple’s defence. Many have pointed out the double standards in the reaction, considering the Queen’s granddaughter Zara Tindall and her husband Mike Tindall also held hands as they left the service at Westminster Hall. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry held hands as they left the service for Queen Elizabeth II (Getty Images) Zara Tindall and her husband Mike also held hands after the service for Queen Elizabeth II (Getty Images) Others noted that Princess Beatrice held her husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi’s hand during the funeral for her grandfather Prince Philip in 2021. Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi held hands at Prince Philip’s funeral (Getty Images) “People whining about Meghan and Harry say nothing about Mike and Zara Tyndall holding hands,” one person tweeted, while another admitted there was no “veiled criticism” of Zara and her husband , before noting: “The abuse and the double standards and the double standards being put on Meghan is disgraceful.” The hypocrisy of the criticism also prompted many to suggest that the backlash directed at Meghan was racially motivated. “It seems strange that people only criticized Harry and Meghan for holding hands, not Mike and Zara Tyndall. This tends to negate the game that people are racist,” one person tweeted. Another said: “It was amusing to see how the ‘I’m not racist but…’ crowd criticize the #DuchessofSussex for offering comfort to her husband at the END of today’s event but rally to vindicate Zara Tindall and her husband when Hold hands.” “BREAKING: Tories are absolutely furious that Harry held wife Meghan’s hand, but not mad that Mike held Zara’s hand and no one can understand why,” someone else tweeted sarcastically. It’s not the first time Harry and Meghan have held hands while paying their respects to the Queen. The couple also took part in the public display of affection when they rejoined the Prince and Princess of Wales at Windsor Castle to greet well-wishers earlier this week. While royal protocol doesn’t prohibit members of the royal family from engaging in PDA, according to Myka Meier, royal etiquette expert and founder and director of Beaumont Etiquette, who previously told People “there’s no real etiquette or royal protocol that says the couple must refrain from PDA,” the royal family rarely does. According to Meier, the decision comes down to a matter of preference, as well as the “nature of the event they’re attending.” However, body language expert Robin Kermode previously told the DailyMail that the Queen, who rarely held hands with Prince Philip in public, may have set a precedent.
