Meghan Markle's Barefoot Greeting Sparks Outrage and Disgust... after Prince Harry Confessed Unhygienic Habit Made Prince William 'Completely Freaked Out'
Fans called Meghan Markle's love of greeting guests while barefoot 'bad manners.'
Oct. 24 2025, Published 6:20 p.m. ET
Meghan Markle has confessed that she goes barefoot whenever greeting guests at her home, years after sharing that the tactic seemingly disgusted Prince William and Kate Middleton, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
The California native, 44, explained why she loves welcoming others in the very informal way, even though the highly casual, shoeless look wasn't a hit with the U.K. royals.
Going Barefoot 'Demystifies'
Markle traded her high heels for open-toe slide ons at the 2023 Invictus Games.
Markle opened up about her domestic dressing habits when she joined college pal Courtney Adamo for a discussion about her book, The Family Home: Inspiring Ideas for a Home Filled with Joy, at a Summerland, Calif., bookstore on Thursday, October 23.
When at the Montecito mansion she shares with her husband, Prince Harry, Markle gushed how she loves to answer the door "barefoot" and with an "apron on."
"It demystifies," she told the Godmother's Bookstore audience and those watching via the store's Substack live stream.
"People walk in and go, 'Oh, she's in this with me.' And what are they drawn to? Your kitchen. They come right in, and suddenly everyone's a little bit softened," Markle added about the barefoot practice.
Cringeworthy First Meeting With Future In-Laws
Markle went barefoot the first time she met Prince William and Kate Middleton.
Markle tried the laid-back barefoot look, along with a big hug, when meeting her future brother and sister-in-law for the first time in 2016. Harry, 40, wrote in his 2023 memoir, Spare, that the gesture didn't go over well with William, 43, and Middleton, 43.
The interaction occurred at Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace, where Harry and Markle were living together while still dating.
"[It] completely freaked him out. He recoiled," Harry wrote about his brother upon the former Suits star's greeting. "Willy didn’t hug many strangers. Whereas Meg hugged most strangers."
'Really Jarring'
Markle found Wililam and Middleton's 'jarring' response to her barefoot, hug-filled greeting 'surprising.'
Markle recalled her barefoot-and-jeans look and her informal greeting style in the couple's 2022 Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.
"Even when Will and Kate came over, and I had met her for the first time, they came over for dinner. I remember I was in ripped jeans, and I was barefoot," the As Ever founder detailed.
"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," she continued about meeting William and Kate.
"I guess I quickly realized that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside. That there is a forward-facing way of being," Markle added about the Prince and Princes of Wales, saying she found it "surprising."
'It's Bad Manners!'
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Then-working royal Markle still wore shoes on the sand during a formal tour of Australia in 2018.
While the future king and queen were unnerved by the barefoot, hug-filled greeting, some royal fans agreed it might be too much.
"When you have to be barefoot or wear an apron to make people feel comfortable? There’s clearly something wrong with your personality," one person griped on X, while a second noted, "Many people think it’s bad manners to greet guests without shoes!"
A third poster pointed out: "If someone greeted me barefoot, I would first internally panic that I was early and had caught them unaware. If that were not the case, I would consider they were being massively over-casual with me. Neither of which is good. In terms of manners, it's quite disrespectful."
A fourth user speculated: "Maybe she thought it was American-cute," about Markle meeting William and Middleton while barefoot.
