'Meghan was lovely, respectful' and 'kind': Restaurant worker shares Duchess of Sussex experience
Meghan Markle has been described as "lovely, respectful" and "kind" by a restaurant worker who helped serve the Duchess of Sussex while she ate with her friends in a private dining room.
Sharing details of her experience meeting the royal, TikTok user Krista Lepore said Meghan, who at the time was already married to Prince Harry and was pregnant, "was great" and "always said please and thank you, always made eye contact and was always engaging".
Lepore decided to reveal all about her experiences with the royal in honour of King Charles III's coronation, but also because she believes many have a "preconceived notion about her".
"Nothing that I experienced was like that with her," she told her followers on the video sharing platform.
Read more: What's next for Harry and Meghan?
Explaining that Meghan was enjoying dinner with her friends in a private room in the restaurant she was working in, Lepore said she was the second server, which meant she had to go into the room to assist and serve and clear drinks.
"Every time I was in the room, everything that I heard, saw and experienced firsthand. She is lovely, respectful, kind, was just having dinner with her friends. That's it, like any one of us."
As she was away from the public in a private room, Lepore believes Meghan "had no excuse to be anything other than herself because she was now in a safe environment".
"And so I saw, in my opinion, what I feel was the real Meghan," she continued, adding that she thought Meghan was "fantastic".
Read more: How fans and critics have reacted to Harry attending Charles's coronation without Meghan
Lepore went on to say that after the duchess had left with her friends she asked her colleague, who was the main server in the room, what his opinion of her was and shared that he thought she was "one of the nicest human beings I have ever met in my life".
"He couldn't stop raging [raving] about her," she concluded. "So maybe everybody needs to back off a little bit and give her a little bit of grace because she's really lovely."
Watch: Meghan Markle isn't going back to acting despite signing with a talent agency
After sharing her interaction with the royal, fans commented how refreshing it was to learn what Meghan is like behind closed doors.
"This makes me so happy to hear!" one user wrote. "I always felt like Meghan was being harshly judged."
"So happy to hear this," another agreed. "Thanks for sharing. I truly believe, Meghan is genuine and real."
"I think it’s ridiculous all the hatred for Meghan Markle," yet another user wrote.
Others added their own stories about her character.
"She visited a restaurant in Dublin, Ireland not long after they married. The staff said exactly what you have said here."
Read more: Take our Harry and Meghan relationship quiz
The interaction share comes as Meghan wasn't present for the coronation last weekend, choosing to remain behind in California with her and Harry's children, Prince Archie, four, and Princess Lilibet, one.
As the coronation fell on Archie’s fourth birthday, it is believed that this was a driving factor behind Meghan’s decision to stay in California.
Last month it was revealed Meghan is to be given a Women of Vision Award by the Ms. Foundation for Women — the oldest women's foundation in the US.
Meghan will be given the award on 16 May by feminist activist and journalist Gloria Steinem, who was also a co-founder of Ms. Foundation, for her "global advocacy to empower and advocate on behalf of women and girls".
Previous recipients of the Women of Vision Awards include Hilary Clinton, iconic fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg and Academy Award nominated director Ava DuVernary.
This isn't the only honour the Duchess has received recently: her podcast series Archetypes was given a Gracie Award by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation.
In a statement on the Archewell Foundation's website, Meghan said she was grateful for this "prestigious honour" for her podcast.
