Royal Encounter Turned Awkward
Malala Yousafzai shared an unexpected and awkward moment during a royal meeting on The Graham Norton Show, which took place on October 31.
Incident with Prince Harry
During the event, Malala, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, described how her mother sharply warned Prince Harry after he put his arm around her for a photograph.
"My mum was also very strict, she wanted me to stick to the Pakistani traditional culture," Malala explained. "When I met Prince Harry, we were taking a photo, and he put his arm around my shoulder. My mum went up to him and said, ‘Remove’. She just, like, shoves off his hand."
Cultural Context
Malala, who was 17 at the time, emphasized that her family's actions originated from deep cultural traditions calling for conservative conduct.
Recount on ITV
On Lorraine Kelly's ITV show, Malala elaborated on the incident, adding:
"Prince Harry was very, very sweet, and he put his arm around me... but my mum, because of the culture, sees it as inappropriate for a man to put his arm around a girl. She went up to Prince Harry and said, ‘Remove — no touch’. I was terrified — poor Prince Harry, his face went red."
Later Reconnection
Despite the initial awkwardness, Malala and Prince Harry later reconnected in 2020 for a virtual conversation with Meghan Markle on International Day of the Girl.
Author's summary: Malala recounted an awkward cultural clash with Prince Harry, highlighting her family's traditional values and their influence on her interactions with royalty.