Meghan Markle left 'very frustrated' by 'royalty' comments on MasterChef

Ben McCaffrey
Mon, 20 Apr 2026 15:31:37 +0000

Meghan Markle has been left "very frustrated" after her appearance on MasterChef Australia, where she was referred to as "royalty".

The Duchess of Sussex featured on the iconic cooking show during her and Prince Harry's tour of Australia last week.

Harry, 41, was left to his own devices on Wednesday as he spoke at a public event in Melbourne, laid a wreath at a war memorial in Canberra and attended a reception for Invictus Australia.

Meghan, meanwhile, was absent from all engagements as she conducted personal business.

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It was later revealed by TV network Channel Ten that the duchess, a well-known foodie who previously demonstrated her passion for cooking through her Netflix lifestyle programme With Love, Meghan, would feature on the show.

And while the move has been hailed as "brilliant" by PR experts, Meghan was left "very frustrated" by her appearance.

Her team are said to have "specifically" made it clear that she did not want the word "royal" used, a source has claimed.

During Channel Ten's promotional video revealing Meghan as a guest judge on the show, Poh Ling Yeow declared: "We've had MasterChef royalty in the kitchen before but no one like this."

According to news.com.au, Meghan's team "were outside the doors when it was filmed, so didn't know what had been said."

Poh later said: "All the way from sunny California, please welcome to MasterChef Australia...the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle!"

This was also a direct contradiction of Megan's previous remarks on her Netflix show, where she corrected friend Mindy Kaling for using her maiden name.

Responding to her friend, the duchess said: "It's so funny, too, that you keep saying 'Meghan Markle.' You know I'm 'Sussex' now."

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She emphasised that having children had made the shared family name deeply meaningful to her.

Following that correction, the duchess was subsequently introduced as Meghan Sussex during an appearance on the Drew Barrymore Show.

The controversy surrounding the MasterChef appearance came amid broader criticism of the couple's four-day Australian visit.

Following Meghan's TV appearance, the couple visited Bondi Beach and spoke with survivors of the tragic terror attack that left 15 dead in December.

However, the decision to monetise Meghan's outfit through AI fashion platform OneOff, in which she announced her partnership and investment while the couple were Down Under, drew particular dismay from experts.

Royal commentator Richard Palmer warned: "This is perhaps the starkest example yet of Harry and Meghan's efforts to commercialise their royal brand."

Meghan is said to earn a commission of between 10 and 25 per cent on sales of her outfit through the app.

A separate dispute emerged over whether Australian taxpayers should bear the cost of police protection, given the couple's own representatives had repeatedly characterised the trip as "private" rather than an official royal tour.

More than 47,000 people signed a "No Taxpayer-Funding or Official Support for Harry & Meghan's Private Visit to Australia" campaign.

New South Wales Police confirmed that police would be deployed during the tour because it "will require some additional security measures".