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    Meghan Markle had a two-hour tea drinking lesson before meeting the Queen

    Serious Princess Diaries vibes.

    Jenny Proudfoot's avatar
    By Jenny Proudfoot
    Published 18 September 2019 In News

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    Serious Princess Diaries vibes.

    Meghan Markle has taken to her role of Duchess of Sussex so well that it’s hard to believe that she was only given the title last year, after her royal wedding to Prince Harry.

    She now has a royal baby, a royal abode and numerous charities and campaigns to her name.

    But how did she learn the ropes? Well, according to reports, Princess lessons, with the former Suits actress informed of all royal protocol from not shutting your own car door or eating shellfish on royal tours to abstaining from talking about politics in public.

    This week, it was her etiquette training that made news as it was reported that the Duchess underwent tea lessons with Edmond Fry, an etiquette expert at California’s Rose Tree Cottage tea room before her first meeting with the Queen.

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    The lessons, as reported by Daily Mail, taught the Duchess etiquette from handling a fork to drinking tea correctly.

    ‘She enjoyed it so much that she wanted to come back,’ Edmond Fry is reported to have said about the lessons with Meghan. ‘The younger generation doesn’t know what bone china is and certainly doesn’t know anything about how to handle a cup and saucer or how to handle a knife and fork.’

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    Edmond Fry continued: ‘They come to us mainly to find out, “What should we do, as we are having this social event?” The same sort of thing happened with Meghan. She knew she would be having tea with the queen. Here, they really do not know what to do. What we have found is that we give them a little information if they are interested and watch what happens.’

    Well, it certainly seems to have worked with the Queen reported to be a big fan of the Duchess.

    Jenny Proudfoot
    Jenny Proudfoot
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    Contributing Features Editor

    Jenny Proudfoot is an award-winning journalist, specialising in lifestyle, culture, entertainment, international development and politics. After working at Marie Claire UK for seven years - rising from intern to Features Editor - she is now a freelance contributor to the News and Features section.

    In 2021, Jenny was named as a winner on the PPA's '30 under 30' list, and was also listed as a rising star in journalism.

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