Everyone’s hearts skipped a beat earlier this week when Meghan Markle, Prince Harry, Beyoncé, and Jay-Z met at the London premiere of The Lion King. The foursome all looked so happy to be chatting: Beyoncé gave Markle a warm hug and reportedly called her “my princess,” and Prince Harry couldn’t stop smiling. To be a fly on the wall, am I right?

But underneath all these good vibes were some nerves from Beyoncé. In a new interview with Jimmy Kimmel, Billy Eichner (who plays Timon in The Lion King) says the whole cast was nervous meeting the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, including Queen B, who’s basically American royalty.

“It was great, and we were all kind of nervous, even Beyoncé,” Eichner revealed. And that’s not all the tea he spilled: Apparently, The Lion King cast was given some very strict instructions for greeting Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Per Eichner, “In the days leading up to it, they email you a protocol of how you’re supposed to greet Prince Harry and Meghan. They are very intense about it. I’m not kidding! You’re supposed to say, ‘Your royal highness.’ You can’t speak until your hands are, like, in a handshake with his. My plus-one—my guest I brought with me, my very good friend Jared—they said he had to stand behind me and not speak unless he was spoken to. I’m not kidding! I was like, ‘Does that same rule apply to Jay-Z?’ I have a feeling it doesn’t.”

It all worked out, though. Even though Eichner says he “completely freaked out,” Markle and Prince Harry were apparently “very, very nice and totally chill and down to earth and lovely.” That sounds about right, given Prince Harry’s reported annoyance with the stuffiness of royal culture. “Harry is a man who, as a young boy, resented being a prince, resented the weighted burden that came with his title,” royals expert Katie Nicholl told Glamour a few months back.

Watch Eichner’s interview for yourself in the video, above. The Lion King is currently playing in theaters nationwide.

Source link