A British high school student embraced his moment with Meghan Markle by writing a lighthearted apology to Prince Harry for “cuddling” her.
After Aker Okoye hugged the Duchess of Sussex and called her “beautiful” at a recent International Women’s Day event in London, he penned a mea culpa and shared it in the Sun tabloid this week.
“I hope you didn’t mind me cuddling your wife,” he wrote to Harry, explaining that he was “just overwhelmed and shocked to see her arrive at my school.”
Aker, 16, called her “inspirational” and wrote that he hoped to meet Harry one day.
On Friday at Robert Clack Upper School, Aker answered Meghan’s call for a “brave young man” to step on stage. “She really is beautiful, innit?” Aker commented in the clip posted to the royal couple’s Instagram.
The duchess laughed and wagged her finger at him. After a speech in which he noted the strong women in his life and reminded everyone that women “do it all,” Aker and Meghan exchanged a big hug. Meghan did appear to initiate the embrace with an arms wide open gesture, so Aker can probably rest assured that Harry wouldn’t take umbrage.
“It was one of those moments which I’ll cherish for the rest of my life,” Aker told Piers Morgan in an interview, per CNN.
Harry and Meghan are wrapping up their official appearances before they complete their departure from senior royal duties to live in North America.