Britain’s Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, (C) and Britain’s Meghan, Duchess of Sussex (L) leave with Britain’s Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, (R) and Britain’s Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, (2R) after attending the wedding of Britain’s Princess Eugenie of York and Jack Brooksbank at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, in Windsor, on October 12, 2018.© Reach Publishing Services Limited

According to a new Royal tell-all, Meghan Markle was reportedly “hurt” when Princess Kate, Prince William, and King Charles were taken aback by her hugs, evidencing the stark cultural differences within the Royal Family.

‘Yes Ma’am: The Secret Life of Royal Servants’, penned by Royal author Tom Quinn and featured in excerpts by The Times, delves into these moments that added to a “tense atmosphere” for the Sussexes.

Quinn reveals, “Tension developed between William and Harry as a result of Meghan’s warm, friendly, hug-everyone approach. Kate, William and Charles tended to flinch when she moved in for a hug.”

“Meghan was understandably hurt, as everyone apparently hugs everyone in California. Meghan even tried to hug a singularly stiff Old Etonian equerry. He too flinched as if she’d tried to poke him in the eye, as another member of staff put it.”

Prince William and Kate Middleton© (Image: Getty)

The book claims that these cultural clashes contributed to Harry and Meghan’s decision to part ways with the Firm and relocate to the .us. in 2020. This move came after their marriage in 2018 amid growing tensions with the Royal establishment.

In their Netflix documentary series ‘Harry and Meghan’ aired in 2022, the Duchess reminisces about embracing a casual look and greeting Kate with open arms: “Even when Will and Kate came over, and I was meeting her for the first time, I remember I was in ripped jeans, I was barefoot.”

The Duchess explained: “Like I was a hugger, I have always been a hugger. I didn’t realise that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.”

“I started to understand that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside, that there is a forward-facing way of being and then you close the door and think, ‘OK, we can relax now’. But that formality carries over on both sides and that was surprising to me.”

Harry also wrote in his memoir Spare about Meghan’s first meeting with William, saying: “[It] completely freaked him out. He recoiled. Willy didn’t hug many strangers. Whereas Meg hugged most strangers.”

“Will had hoped that she would greet him with standard reverence per the protocol, [but] she didn’t know it and I hadn’t told her.”