Netflix fans are calling out Meghan Markle for making them 'feel old' over an 'offensive' remark she made in a new documentary series about her relationship with husband Prince Harry. The new series takes a look into why the couple decided to step down as working members of the royal family back in 2020.
The first three episodes of the two-part series, released by Netflix on Thursday, delve into the early days of the couple's relationship, Harry's memories of his mother Diana and the pair's troubled relationship with the national media. In episode three of the series, Meghan opens up about how she struggled to know how to act in the presence of the royal family when she first became part of it.
The Duchess of Sussex said her experience was nothing like how it is represented in The Princess Diaries, the 2001 coming-of-age comedy about an American high school student who discovers she is heir to the throne of Genovia, a fictional European kingdom. In the film, nerdy teenager Mia Thermopolis is trained in royal protocol by her grandmother.
READ MORE: Everything we learned from first three Harry and Meghan episodes on Netflix
In the documentary, Meghan said: “Joining this family I knew that there was a protocol for how things were done. Do you remember that old movie Princess Diaries with Anne Hathaway?” It then cuts to a clip of the film, in which Mia is told by her grandmother: “I can teach you to walk, talk, sit, stand, eat, dress like a princess.”
Meghan then tells the programme: “There is no class and some person who goes, ‘Sit like this, cross your legs like this, use this fork, don’t do this, curtsy then, wear this kind of hat’. It doesn’t happen. So I needed to learn a lot including the national anthem.”
Viewers of the Netflix show were quick to call the duchess out over the remark, insisting that the Princess Diaries shouldn't be referred to as "old". Nicole wrote on Twitter: "Finished the first episodes of Harry and Meghan. Loved it! However I take offense to Meghan going, "You know that old movie? The Princess Diaries?" Meghan, why you gotta try to make us all feel old???"
Daisy Hudson said: "Most controversial part of #MeghanandHarry so far is Meghan referring to The Princess Diaries as “that old movie”." While Christina D added: "Meghan, Princess Diaries is not an old movie. It is a timeless CLASSIC!"
_MissHenderson wrote: "When Meghan said “do you remember that old movie The Princess Diaries?” ..my bones are dust..." While emily burack echoed: "meghan, PRINCESS DIARIES isn't an old movie!!!!!!"
Nina Metz commented: "Remember that old movie 'The Princess Diaries'? OK, I laughed — it came out in 2001! Is that ... old? I guess 20+ years is old. No, you're not old, I'M OLD"
Christina added: "Meghan referring to the Princess Diaries as "that old movie" lmaoooo I thought she was gonna name a movie from like the 50s"
The Disney film, based on Meg Cabot’s 2000 novel of the same name, was a commercial success, grossing around 165 million US dollars worldwide. A sequel, titled The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, arrived in 2004 and saw Thermopolis graduate and return to Genovia in search of a suitor. A third film is reportedly in the works.
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