Disrespectful? Harry and Meghan hold hands leaving solemn Westminster Hall service

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are known for grasping each other’s hands during public appearances, but many on social media say they should have refrained from their usual PDA while leaving the solemn ceremony at Westminster Hall Thursday, where Queen Elizabeth II’s coffin was brought to lie in state.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who have become polarizing figures in Britain since their acrimonious departure from royal life in 2020, sparked yet another debate, this time about public displays of affection at a formal royal event.

The couple have been invited to participate in ceremonies memorializing the queen, who died Sept. 8. That included Thursday’s military procession through the streets of London, which conveyed the queen’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall to lie in state until her funeral next week.

Everything about the procession was highly regimented with military precision and formality, including the short religious ceremony that followed at Westminster Hall. There, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Dean of Westminster read prayers for the queen to mark the beginning of her lying in state.

Harry and Meghan joined other senior royal couples in standing in two-by-two formation behind the coffin. Meghan, with her face raised beneath a black veil, could be seen standing behind Kate Middleton, the new Princess of Wales, who appeared to be holding back tears. When it came time to leave, each couple filed out, led by King Charles and Camilla, the queen consort.

Harry and Meghan, following William and Kate, could be seen taking each other’s hands as they left the hall, unlike the other couples ahead of them. As usual, the way the Sussexes touched each other stood in contrast to William and Kate, the future king and queen, who rarely display physical contact in public.

The Royal Family leaves Westminster Hall. pic.twitter.com/SlfylBosJa

— Royal Central (@RoyalCentral) September 14, 2022

One person, a self-identified fan of the Sussexes, proclaimed on the Royal Central Twitter feed: “Meghan and Harry always holding hands! We love a couple that’s actually in love.”

Others agreed that it would be natural for Harry and Meghan to want to comfort each other by holding hands, especially as Harry is grieving the loss of his beloved grandmother. Someone else tweeted that there is too much “weird, mean” attention paid to the fact that Harry and his American wife like being affectionate in public, noting that she, too, held her husband’s hand at a family funeral.

Many others, however, said their hand-holding was “disrespectful” and out of place at this particular time and place.

“Its a formal funeral procession,” tweeted someone else. “Thats not love, it’s disrespect.”

“Can they not hold hands for just a minute?” said another. “God they’re so disrespectful. It’s annoying.”

“Utterly inappropriate and bad form,” said someone else, while yet another person argued that former President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama, known as a very loving couple, knew there were times when it wasn’t appropriate to be publicly affectionate.

“He should know better having served that a processional of this formality is not fit for PDA,” someone said. “It’s disappointing to see how little respect Henry has for tradition and his family.”

Indeed, some argued that the couple’s hand-holding was yet another example of how the Sussexes have shown disrespect for the monarchy, which was led by Elizabeth II, since they moved to California in 2020. Harry and Meghan’s relationship with Charles, William and other members of the royal family has become increasingly fraught as they publicly accused the family of harboring a racist member and otherwise being cruel, repressive or dysfunctional.

It appears that the royal family and the Sussexes have called a truce, at least through the queen’s funeral. William reportedly helped execute that truce when he invited Harry and Meghan to join him and Kate on a walkabout outside Windsor Castle Saturday to greet well-wishers. Notably, Harry and Meghan tightly held hands as they emerged from Windsor Castle to begin the walkabout, unlike William and Kate, who strode out in a brisk, business-like way.