Photos of members of the royal family at a service to mark the beginning of Queen Elizabeth II’s lying-in-state have sparked a debate about double standards on social media, as Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, have been attacked for holding hands — whereas another hand-holding royal couple have not.
Following a procession of the Queen’s coffin from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster on Wednesday, the royal family came together to pay their respects to the monarch and matriarch. When it was their turn, Harry and Meghan bowed and curtsied to the Queen’s coffin and then turned to leave Westminster Hall.
As they did so, they took each other’s hands — and all hell broke loose on Twitter.
Apparently holding hands is undignified.
The Royal Family leave our beloved Queen in Westminster Hall with grace and dignity except for Harry and Meghan who just have to hold hands like two lovesick teenagers. They really get on my nerves.
It's woke.
The woke despise traditions and respect, so not surprising https://t.co/1YlyNNfo0x
It's insulting.
The Absolute Disrespect of harry and meghan strolling hand in hand in an official state ceremony to pay hommage to the Queen when we cannot even use any of their credentials to wipe the floor is an absolute Disgrace. Life will repay them this honor this insult.🇬🇧
It's disgraceful.
Painful to watch the ceremony today and see the arrogance of a traitor and his wife standing in front of the woman they have BOTH tormented relentlessly for nearly 3 years...and couldn't wait till they got into the car before holding hands? The pair of them are a disgrace!
It lacks decorum.
Did I really see Meghan and Harry holding hands of Westminster? No decorum
It's inappropriate.
What a shame. Meghan and Harry just had to draw attention to themselves by holding hands. Totally inappropriate but what else can you expect?
It's improper.
Did my eyes deceive me, or were Harry and Meghan actually holding hands as they walked out of Westminster Hall?! Do they not have any idea how to behave properly? 🤦🏻♂️ #HarryandMeghan
There's just one issue — Harry and Meghan weren't the only royal couple to hold hands. Zara Tindall (the daughter of Anne, Princess Royal) and her husband, Mike Tindall, also held hands as they exited Westminster Hall.
Actually, they went one step beyond Harry and Meghan and held hands while honoring the Queen's coffin!
Strangely enough, nobody on Twitter seems to be up in arms about the Tindalls’ show of affection — or another hand-holding moment that was caught on camera between Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and his daughter Princess Eugenie of York.
It didn’t take very long for people to call out the double standard.
We've reached peak stupidity today with Harry & Meghan haters, they're outraged because H & M were holding hands. In their rush to condemn Harry & Meghan they missed this. Unbelievably one response was this is ok because Zara doesn't have a title. Brexiter level contortions.
BREAKING: Conservatives are absolutely livid because Harry held his wife Meghan's hand, but they're not mad that Mike held Zara's hand and nobody can figure out why 🤔
I wonder what it is about Harry and Meghan?
