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The Duchess of Sussex makes a speech on stage during the Opening Ceremony of the Invictus Games 2020 © Getty

Meghan Markle's reaction to the major error made during her first public speech revealed

Prince Harry's then-fiancée made headlines after appearing at the 2018 Endeavour Fund Awards

Andrea Caamano
Website Editor
October 27, 2023
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All eyes were on Meghan Markle at the Endeavour Fund Awards in 2018 - when she gave her first public speech as a royal bride-to-be, three months before she tied the knot with Prince Harry.

Everyone involved expected that it would all be plain sailing on the very important night, but sadly, that wasn’t quite the case - and Meghan's stage appearance got off to a very rocky start - as you can see in the video below.

Meghan Markle's first speech ahead of royal wedding to Prince Harry

At the time, it wasn't known what exactly had happened – until now.

Meghan Markle laughing on stage after realising the script mistake© Getty
Meghan Markle laughing on stage after realising the script mistake

In this week's A Right Royal Podcast in partnership with True Royalty TV, hosts Andrea Caamano and Emmy Griffiths talk to David Wiseman, Director of the Invictus Games Foundation and good friend of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. He was present on the night, and he reveals how he was in fact responsible for Meghan's onstage mishap.

"I messed up at work! It was [Meghan’s] first time she'd spoken in public as the [future] Duchess of Sussex. I was writing the scripts and there was a last-minute request for a change from her team. But she got the old version, and the new version was sent to her co-host," he explained.

"They were there on stage, and they had two different versions of the script. I don't know if you remember, they were both sort of not arguing but saying no, this is the version, this is the version, and so there was a fluff of the lines in front of everybody on her first opening speech as the [future] Duchess of Sussex.

David Wiseman next to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the 'Endeavour Fund Awards' Ceremony at Goldsmiths Hall on February 1, 2018 © Getty
David Wiseman next to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the 'Endeavour Fund Awards' Ceremony at Goldsmiths Hall on February 1, 2018

"And I was just there in the front row, sitting next to Harry just like almost head in hands going ‘Oh, oh, just, just skip it, just skip it, move on, move on, move on.'"

David goes on to explain how Meghan reacted following the event and reveals the exact words she said to him over a phone call - listen now to find out.

LISTEN:  Prince Harry and Meghan: The Next Chapter 

Elsewhere in the one-hour episode, David opens up about visiting the couple in their Montecito home as well as recounting how Prince Harry first came up with the idea of the Invictus Games.

Other guests in the sixth episode of the second series include the Mayor of Dusseldorf, Dr Stephan Keller, and HELLO!’s royal editor Emily Nash who reveals all about Meghan’s solo Instagram account, the couple’s reported move out of Montecito and plans for the future.

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