Billy Eichner Revealed That *Gasp* Even Beyoncé Was Nervous to Meet Meghan Markle
Even Beyoncé gets nerves! Who knew? According to Billy Eichner, the pop star, 37, was a little anxious before meeting Meghan Markle at the London premiere of The Lion King on Sunday, July 14.
“Prince Harry and Meghan Markle came, and Beyoncé was there, and Sir Elton John was there. And I was there, randomly,” the 40-year-old, who plays Timon in the movie, recently said on Jimmy Kimmel Live. “And it was great, and we were all kind of nervous, even Beyoncé.”
Then the host, 51, said what we all thought at some point: “Really? They should be bowing to her!” However, it makes sense why Queen B, 37, felt the way she did. Apparently, there are very specific guidelines to follow when meeting a royal even as chill as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
“That’s true, actually. She’s our American royalty,” Billy said, agreeing with Jimmy. “But what makes you nervous is in the days leading up to it, they email you a protocol of how you’re supposed to greet Prince Harry and they’re very intense about it. I’m not kidding.”
“You’re supposed to say, ‘Your Royal Highness.’ You can’t speak until your hands are 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,” he continued. “I’m not kidding. I was like, ‘Does that same rule apply to JAY-Z?’ I have a feeling it doesn’t.”
Billy then added that he also felt nervous meeting the royal couple. “‘Your Royal Highness’ sounds a little weird, and bowing feels weird. I don’t even know what they want you to do, and in my head, I’m like, ‘What do you call her?'” he said. “I kept thinking she’s Princess Markle, but that sounds like a character on Super Mario Brothers. They don’t really call her that. Anyway, I completely freaked out, although they were very, very nice and totally chill and down to earth and lovely.”
Fortunately, though, the encounter couldn’t have gone any better. “She was really cool, and Harry was great too,” he expressed. “They were very nice, lovely, beautiful-looking people.” We don’t doubt it!
