WITH the eyes of the world upon her, Meghan Markle’s emotional hug with singer Alexandra Burke came during her final public appearance as a working member of the Royal Family.
A year on, the X Factor winner has shared details of the pair’s heartfelt chat — and backed the “brave” Duchess of Sussex’s decision to speak out on racism.
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Alexandra, 32, also opened up about her own experiences with prejudice, revealing she was once arrested after being spat at by a white woman.
Speaking in the wake of Meghan and Prince Harry’s bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview, the singer says: “It was heartbreaking for me to watch that.
“They are a family who have things going on, just like everyone does.
“Meghan is the nicest person ever. When we met at the Commonwealth Service, she said wasn’t allowed to hug me because it was at the start of coronavirus — but it was right at the start, before everyone really knew what was going on.
“So she said, ‘I’ve been advised not to hug or touch anyone, but I’m going to hug you anyway’, and then she squeezed me. She was going through a lot, and thanked me for her support.
‘SUCH A LOVELY GIRL’
“Obviously the world knew she was going through a hard time because it was her last official royal commitment.
“So basically I thanked her for being an inspiration, and I thanked her as a black woman for being a voice.
“I said, ‘The position you are currently in — you have a lot of young, black women looking to you, saying, ‘If she can, I can’’.
“I just thanked her, and told her to continue doing what she’s doing, and that all that mattered was that she was happy. She’s such a lovely girl. She’s everything.
“She’s way more beautiful in real life than in pictures. You look at her and you think, ‘Jesus, how did God create you, love? You are stunning’.”
Video footage of the pair hugging went viral on Twitter, with singer Craig David — who also performed at the Commonwealth Service — tweeting that he wished it was him being embraced by Meghan.
Fans quickly speculated about what the pair were saying to one another.
While loyal Alexandra refuses to share full details of their conversation — “I swore to her I wouldn’t” — lip-reading experts insisted the 39-year-old former actress said: “My faith is greater than my fear.”
The duo were chatting at Westminster Abbey for the Commonwealth Day Service, which came just weeks after Meghan and Prince Harry announced their decision to quit as senior members of royals. The event marked their last public appearance alongside Prince William and Kate Middleton, and the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh.
Alexandra, who is a Royal Commonwealth Society ambassador, performed at the ceremony. The singer won Simon Cowell’s hit ITV1 show in 2008, singing on stage with Beyonce in the live final.
After 13 years in a cut-throat and superficial industry, she is well-equipped to weigh in on the topic of race.
Six months ago she released a powerful Instagram video detailing her own experiences of racism in the music industry.
In it, she also revealed she had been asked to bleach her skin in an effort to sell more records and make her more commercially “palatable”. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been widely knocked by their detractors. Cynics have disputed their accusations of racism within the Royal Family — including claims someone in “The Firm” questioned the colour of baby Archie’s skin before his birth — but Alexandra is quick to defend her famous pal.
She adds: “Harry and Meghan said a lot that will make people think about what they are going through.
“People will have their opinions but at the same time, we weren’t there. We weren’t in their shoes, in that moment, so everyone needs to stop having an opinion.
“I think she and Prince Harry have been brave to take the stand that they have, in speaking about their truth.”
Talking from her home in Hertfordshire — days after four million people saw her crowned winner of The Great British Bake Off in Channel 4’s celebrity special — Alexandra is determined to use her own platform to effect change.
That includes detailing her own deeply personal encounter with racial profiling, which saw her wrongly arrested and detained as a teenager.
She explains: “I was 15 years old and in a dance rehearsal in Hornsey, North London. We were a mix of black and white people. We were waiting outside a sweet shop when this white woman walked past us and pushed in.
‘BETTER TO SPEAK OUT’
“When one of my friends told her there was a queue, she looked at me, and spat in my face. Then she said, ‘You black people, that’s where you all deserve to live — in our spit’.
“I remember my friends holding me back. I was outraged by her comment but also it made me cry. But then all of a sudden, the police were called, as she’d said that we had hit her.
“Ten of us got arrested. I was one of them — and I got held in a jail cell.
“She then wanted to press charges, and we had to go back in. But police dropped all charges after looking at the CCTV and seeing she’d started everything, seeing she’d spat at me.
“It was my first experience of racism out of nowhere, being arrested for the colour of my skin. Afterwards, my mum sat me down and said, ‘These are some of the things that happen but you have to stick up for yourself’.”
And she praises the Black Lives Matter campaign for raising awareness and “opening up the conversation”.
She adds: “I’ve never told anyone about being arrested before because I was ashamed. I always ignored that advice my mum gave me until recently because I never thought I had a voice.
“I always felt I needed to be silent, to move on. The moment you choose to stop worrying about the backlash, and speak out, the better things get.”
This summer, pandemic permitting, Alexandra will appear in a touring production of the Julia Roberts film My Best Friend’s Wedding, which may help explain her recent 2st weight loss. After splashing out on a Peloton bike and treadmill, she trains three times a day. Her new mindset coincides with recovery from her split with Rotherham United footballer Angus MacDonald last year.
She is, she laughs, now single and ready to mingle — and has joined the A-lister dating app Raya.
She adds: “The weight loss has been gradual, no fad diet . . . and I’m still eating chocolate! And my friend persuaded me to join Raya.
“I’m so open to everything but, for now, I am content being single.”
