Meghan Markle's 'staged' Prince Harry MasterChef call slammed as 'cold and pathetic'

Alycia McNamara Sat, August 1, 2026 at 10:05 PM UTC

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The couple left their royal roles in 2020 (Image: Getty)

Meghan Markle has drawn criticism for what some perceive as "staging" a FaceTime call with Prince Harry during her appearance on MasterChef Australia. Critics have questioned the moment's "lack of authenticity."

The Duchess appeared on last week's episode, which included what seemed to be an unplanned FaceTime call with her husband, Prince Harry, 41. However, some viewers expressed skepticism about the video call, which began when a crew member handed Meghan a phone, saying, "We had a phone call to the studio." Celebrity chef Jameson Stocks challenged the genuine nature of the moment.

Speaking to The News International, he said, "Firstly, if you're on an open set, people generally don't have their phones readily to hand. This was clearly staged and prearranged, much like her contrived television programme-there was no authenticity or genuine spontaneity, just something cold, calculated, and pathetic. Stuff like this I find extremely cringeworthy." This comes after Meghan received advice from a surprising royal.

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Stocks added, "Meghan seems to clash with people who, from an outsider's perspective, make her feel unimportant."

"Based on how people close to her treated me," he continued, "I understand the methods used and the way others can be made to feel. If Meghan felt that strongly about the situation, the producers would have edited it out," reports the Express.

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Harry and Meghan married in 2018 (Image: Getty)

During the call, Meghan appeared initially uncertain about the interruption before recognizing Harry on the screen, then smiled and greeted him with, "Hi, my love!" to which he responded, "G'day." The couple then engaged in a brief and playful phone conversation while the audience looked on.

Several viewers appreciated the endearing call, with one individual posting on X, "Wow, these two are so in love."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle began dating in early 2016, though they kept their relationship private until fall of that year.

Discussing the beginning of their romance, Meghan has previously said: "I don't think that I would call it a whirlwind in terms of our relationship, obviously, there have been layers attached to how public it has become after we had a good five, six months almost with just privacy, which was amazing."

People reports that Harry said, "I fell in love with Meghan so incredibly quickly - it was a confirmation to me that all the stars were aligned."

"This beautiful woman literally tripped and fell into my life," he continued, "I fell into her life, and the fact that she will be unbelievably good at the job part of it as well is obviously a huge relief to me because she'll be able to deal with everything else that comes with it."

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”