Meghan Markle’s appearance at Paris Fashion Week has drawn attention amid allegations of another front row faux pas. A newly released video shows her seemingly laughing as a model stumbled on the Balenciaga runway, while her friend beside her remained expressionless.

Additional footage from behind the scenes catches Meghan attempting to engage in conversation with British actress Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, star of Slow Horses. However, the actress turned away, leaving Meghan in an awkward situation.

Dame Kristin, aged 65 and known for her role in Four Weddings And A Funeral, once married a character played by Prince Charles in the film. Previously, she attended a state banquet at Windsor Castle with King Charles and Queen Camilla in July, possibly affirming her status as a royal family ally.

In 2015, she received damehood from the late Queen and later portrayed her in the West End revival of Peter Morgan’s play, The Audience.

Meghan’s foray into high fashion was intended as a serious attempt to be recognized by the industry and to associate with A-listers. However, her swift tour has encountered similar missteps and awkward situations.

Furthermore, the Duchess of Sussex faced backlash over a puzzling Instagram Story video. It showed her feet on the leather seats of a limo driving along the same route Princess Diana tragically followed when her vehicle crashed in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in 1997.

She also shared an awkward kiss with Italian fashion designer Pier Paolo Piccioli – and ended up butting heads with him as they leaned in for an embrace.

In the latest clip, Meghan could be seen watching the fashion show from the front row, sat next to her close friend, Marcus Anderson, Soho House brand’s creative director.

At one point, the Duchess was seen reacting with amusement, firstly gasping with horror before giggling behind her hands and turning to chat to Marcus, who remained stony-faced.

When her friend didn’t seem amused, Meghan turned back around to watch the show with a more neutral expression, though a representative insisted she was not laughing at the model falling. 

One person speculated: ‘I think it was someone tripping or falling because the girl behind her mouths ‘Oh!’

‘Somebody probably fell,’ a second said, while a third noted: ‘Others react to it, just not as obviously as she did.’

Speaking afterwards on GB News, Charlotte Griffiths, Editor-at-large of the Mail on Sunday, said: ‘She did seem a little bit out of place in Paris, if I’m going to be honest. She seemed a bit nervous.

‘At one point, she sat on the front row, and a model tripped. She burst out laughing. And then she obviously realised that was quite a cruel thing to do, so she sort of covered it up.

‘She did seem quite poised, but she did seem a little bit nervous there.’

It has not been confirmed that a model fell over, and Meghan may have simply been sharing a moment of laughter with her friend.

Nonetheless, royal fans were left baffled that she was the ‘only one laughing’ – seeming at odds with the rest of the audience, who watched the show in silence and with neutral expressions.

A representative for Meghan said she wasn’t laughing at the model.  

The Daily Mail has also reached out to Paris Fashion Week, Balenciaga for comment.

Here is how her catwalk of catastrophe unfolded:  

‘Zoolander’ walk

Meghan was also mocked for her ‘Zoolander’ walk, as observers noticed the Duchess of Sussex appeared to be sashaying as she left the Balenciaga show in Paris. 

The first video posted to her Instagram story on Saturday evening was a teaser of her £745 Balenciaga ‘Knife’ heels as she strutted out of the £2,210-per-night Plaza Athénée hotel.

But critics today likened the Duchess to Zoolander – the dim-witted character made famous by Ben Stiller in the 2001 hit comedy.

‘Meghan Markle trying to give Zoolander a run for his supermodel walk,’ one said. 

Other commenters ridiculed ‘self-obsessed’ Meghan for appearing to make the show all about her.

‘Meghan, you’re not a model, they’re simply just walking you to your seat! Meghan walking with her cape like she’s the second coming of the Messiah,’ one wrote. 

However, others complimented the Duchess and said: ‘Love that energy. Channel your inner princess,’ and another said: ‘She is so elegant and has always had style.’ 

Meghan cut an elegant figure in a stylish white oversized button-through ensemble with an incorporated cape and, according to some observers at least, certainly had the strut of a fashionista. 

Appearing amongst high-profile celebrity guests such as Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, FKA Twigs and Anne Hathaway, Meghan had her own catwalk moment as she channelled her inner supermodel in front of numerous cameras while exiting the star-studded show.

With her lips slightly parted, the Duchess struck her best pose as she confidently exited the venue with her entourage.

She then paused before getting into her blacked out minivan. 

One person commented on the video: ‘Why is she walking like that?’

Another replied: ‘Thought the same thing. That’s the ‘I’m very important you know’ walk.’

A fourth wasped: ‘She’s trying way too hard. It almost looks like parody.’

Diana blunder 

Meghan was also condemned for an ‘utterly bewildering’ clip – posted to her Instagram ‘story’ this weekend – which showed her feet resting on the leather seats of a limo as she was motored away from the event in the French capital. 

The clip, which appeared to be taken by Meghan, showed she took the parallel route to that of her mother-in-law, whose journey ended in tragedy as her driver smashed into a pillar in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in 1997. 

Commentators were quick to criticise the Duchess for the ‘disrespectful’ video, branding it ‘beyond stupid’ and ‘insensitive beyond belief’.

But Meghan appeared to have brushed off the criticism with a new video showcasing behind the scenes highlights from her luxurious Parisian stay. 

The clip shows the Duchess being driven past the Arc de Triomphe, staying within walking distance of the Eiffel Tower and snacking on French food. 

She also shows herself munching on ‘frites’ while sampling lipsticks and getting ready with best friend and makeup artist Daniel Martin. 

The under-fire clip of her journey back from the event was notably absent from the new video, which was finished off with the song ‘Minuit’ by Clementine and Oscar Anton. 

Critics have questioned whether Meghan, who married Prince Harry in 2018, realised she had posted a parallel journey – separated by the flowing waters of the Seine – to that followed by her husband’s mother on her final evening in August 1997. 

That journey, of course, ended in tragedy when the car Princess Diana was travelling in smashed into a pillar in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel.

It is easy to see why any similar route taken by Diana’s daughter-in-law might, at very least, raise eyebrows, particularly when one considers that the Montecito-dwelling mother-of-two, who was 16 when Diana died, must surely have read her husband’s autobiography, Spare.

In his 2023 memoir, Harry recalls driving through the same tunnel while at the 2007 Rugby World Cup semi-final when he was 23.

‘The World Cup provided me with a driver, and on my first night in the City of Light I asked him if he knew the tunnel where my mother… I watched his eyes in the rear-view [mirror], growing large,’ Harry writes.

He goes on to note how he requested the driver go through the tunnel at 65mph. ‘The exact speed Mummy’s car had supposedly been driving, according to police,’ he writes. 

‘Not 120mph, as the press originally reported.’ Harry continues: ‘I’d had plenty of bad ideas in my 23 years, but this one was uniquely ill-conceived. I’d told myself that I wanted closure, but I didn’t really,’ he writes. 

‘Deep down, I’d hoped to feel what I’d felt when JLP [Harry’s former private secretary Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton] gave me the police files – disbelief. Doubt. Instead, that was the night all doubt fell away. 

”She’s dead,’ I thought. ‘My God, she’s really gone for good’.’

A powerful place, then, for Harry and surely terribly poignant to see his wife driving along at night so close to where the crash happened.

Perhaps, Meghan was simply giddy with the excitement of her night with the fashion crowd, or chatting to her companion, long-time friend Markus Anderson, global membership director of Soho House, and – since she is presumably not well-acquainted with the roads of the French capital – didn’t realise where she was.

Whatever the explanation, the video triggered a storm of complaints.

On X, commentators didn’t hold back. One said: ‘Please tell me that’s not real..? She didn’t actually do that… did she..?’

While another commented online: ‘For most people whose husband’s mother died, passing the area where it happened would be a moment of quiet, respectful, contemplation.’

And royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told the Daily Mail that the post was ‘utterly bewildering’, ‘beyond stupid’ and ‘insensitive beyond belief’.

He also suggested Prince Harry could take a dim view of his wife’s post: ‘I don’t understand what on earth she was thinking – well, she can’t have been thinking… to share a video which had any connections with the tragic death of the Princess of Wales defies belief.’

Being ‘ignored’ by Kristin Scott Thomas 

Meghan’s Paris Fashion Show feature was one alongside the starriest of crowds – including the likes of Anne Hathaway, FKA Twigs, Simone Ashley and Tracee Ellis Ross. 

The Duchess was even seen greeting Vogue’s editorial director Anna Wintour and getting a kiss from Australian film director Baz Luhrmann. 

However, her interaction with British actress Dame Kristin Scott Thomas, 65, proved to be slightly more awkward. 

In parts of their conversation shared online, Meghan was seen speaking to the BAFTA winner, but Kristin appeared to be engaged in a different conversation. 

Kristin appeared to not catch her eye, and Meghan quickly began speaking to another attendee, only risking a brief look back at Kristin, who was then seen walking away. 

The Four Weddings And A Funeral actress has in the past had close links with the British royal family, which could hint at the apparent tension with Meghan. 

Kristin Scott Thomas was awarded a damehood in 2015 by the late Queen Elizabeth II for her services to drama. 

She even played the role of Her Majesty in the play the Audience on the West End. 

‘She asked me what I was doing next, so I had to tell her,’ the actress told The Express at the time. ‘She said it would be quite a challenge.’ 

In July, she attended the royal state banquet at Windsor Castle, which was held in honour of French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte.  

Balenciaga controversy

The Duchess was also savaged for supporting the Balenciaga fashion show despite the brand being ‘cancelled’ for using children in a controversial ad. 

The luxury brand came under fire in 2022 for its campaign, which featured children holding teddy bears that were outfitted in bondage-style leather outfits.

One critic said: ‘Why on earth would she go to a Balenciaga show? How could any mother support that brand?’  

‘Miss All About the Children showing up at a Balenciaga show. How gross,’ wrote another. 

Meghan herself swept into the show venue, on the elegant Rue de Sevres, in an ensemble as showstopping as anything on the catwalk.

She wore head-to-toe Balenciaga – a white silk button-down shirt, matching trousers and a striking white cape; her black heels peeking out below.

Awkward ‘past show’ reference 

The only pronouncement the duchess’s team made on proceedings was a statement, released to coincide with the show, which read: ‘Meghan, Duchess of Sussex attended the Balenciaga show in Paris on Saturday night in support of Pierpaolo Piccioli, who recently assumed the role of creative director for the house.

‘This marks her first time back to the shows in over a decade.

‘Over the years, the duchess has worn a number of designs by Pierpaolo. They have worked closely together on design for key moments on the world stage. She has long admired his craftsmanship and modern elegance, and tonight was no different.

‘This evening reflects the culmination of many years of artistry and friendship, reflected in her support for his new creative chapter at Balenciaga.’

Her team proudly stated it ‘marks her first time back to the shows in over a decade’. 

But her time at the ‘shows’ back in 2015 was not in Paris, but in Toronto and New York when she was a little-known Suits actress and posed alongside DJs and content creators.

Prior to her marriage to Prince Harry, it is not believed that Meghan was a regular on the front row at the fashion shows, and has not previously appeared at either the London or New York fashion weeks.  

One person said: ‘This marks her first time back to the shows in over a decade? What a load of rubbish! She has never been to Paris fashion week!’ 

Another person noted: ‘Umm, I don’t believe Meghan Markle was ever at a Balenciaga show or any high level fashion show. 

Balenciaga ‘missed’ greeting

In yet another awkward moment, Meghan shared an awkward kiss with Italian fashion designer Pier Paolo Piccioli during her surprise appearance, after he went in for a traditional French embrace. 

The Duchess narrowly avoided pecking the designer – who is the newly appointed creative director of Balenciaga – and butted heads with him as they leaned in for an embrace.  

Meghan had gone in for a kiss on the cheek to congratulate Piccioli on his Spring/Summer 2026 womenswear design, but instead appeared to hit her nose on his sunglasses. 

Aware that the cameras were on them, Piccioli laughed it off and grabbed Meghan’s hand before pulling her in for a photo. 

The Duchess then thanked the designer before finishing off the encounter with a brief hug.  

A spokesman for Meghan said she has ‘long admired’ Piccioli’s ‘craftsmanship and modern elegance’.