She said in the programme: “Even when Will and Kate came over, and I met her for the first time, they came over for dinner, I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot.
“Like I was a hugger, I’ve always been a hugger. I didn’t realize that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits. I guess I started to understand really quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside.”
However footage from royal engagements has shown Kate being open and affectionate with many different people, most recently her former history teacher who made a surprise appearance in Cornwall on Thursday.
Jim Embury approached his former student at the National Maritime Museum, where he now volunteers part time, and she greeted him with a warm embrace.
A royal fanpage criticised Meghan’s words as “utter rubbish” on Twitter after a video was posted of Kate beaming as she hugged Mr Embury.
A friend of Kate also came to her defence, saying: “She is warm and friendly and greets everyone with a big hug and kiss. It comes naturally to her to be like that.”
During a visit to the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) in London in 2018 Kate excitedly greeted Professor Jacqueline Dunkley-Bent and hugged her before enjoying a catch-up.
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Her close friend NBCUniversal cable network chief Bonnie Hammer said when Meghan joined the Royal Family: “The guards would greet her and walk her in.
“After the first couple of times . . . she started giving a hug to the guys, which wasn’t exactly protocol.
“And at some point, somebody said to her, ‘Well, people don’t really do that.’ She literally said, ‘I’m American. I hug’.”
