Meghan Markle made it clear she preferred to keep things informal when Poh Ling Yeow introduced her on MasterChef Australia on Sunday night, politely brushing off the idea of being addressed as “Duchess.”
The Duchess of Sussex, 44, appeared in her eagerly awaited guest role on the hit cooking competition, with the segment filmed during her April visit to Australia alongside husband Prince Harry.
Ahead of Meghan’s entrance, Poh teased the contestants with the arrival of a “mystery guest judge,” explaining that the visitor would be stepping in for Andy Allen while he was away on paternity leave. Her excitement was so high, she joked, that she was struggling not to “swear.”
Moments later, Meghan walked into the MasterChef kitchen, prompting visible surprise from the amateur cooks gathered at their benches.
After greeting Meghan with a hug, Poh asked, “Welcome. Do I call you Duchess?”
Meghan quickly replied, “Oh, call me Meghan. Absolutely, yeah.”
Meghan Markle said she preferred not to be called “Duchess” as Poh Ling Yeow welcomed her to MasterChef Australia on Sunday evening
The Duchess of Sussex, 44, made her long-awaited appearance on the cooking show after filming the guest spot during her trip to Australia three months ago
Meghan’s insistence that the cast use her first name rather than her title comes after her alleged sensitivities over claims that her Australian tour with Prince Harry back in April was cashing in on their royal links.
She was reportedly ‘frustrated’ when she was described as ‘royalty’ in a promo for Australia’s wildly popular reality TV show.
Meghan and her team had ‘specifically’ made clear they did not want the word ‘royal’ used, a source said at the time the promo was released.
The report went on to claim Meghan was worried about being described as royalty, despite the fact that, through her marriage to Harry, the term is technically correct.
After introducing herself as ‘Meghan’ on the show on Sunday night, she went on to declare her love for the land Down Under, explaining the trip was a ‘full circle’ moment for her and her husband as they had announced they were expecting their son, Prince Archie, while visiting the country eight years ago.
‘Oh, we’re so excited. We love Australia. We had the most sentimental, amazing time. We were here almost eight years ago. We announced we were pregnant with Archie at the time. So, it’s full circle, here we are, but thrilled to be here with all of you and taste some really good food. I’ve heard you’ve been cooking up a storm this season,’ she said.
Meghan then went on to proudly boast that both her children – Archie, eight, and Princess Lilibet, five – enjoy eating Brussels sprouts and encouraged the contestants to ‘keep a sense of humour’.
Before Meghan arrived on set, Poh told the contestants she was so excited to introduce a mystery guest judge filling in for Andy Allen , who was on paternity leave, that she was trying to refrain from ‘swearing’
For Meghan’s guest spot, contestants of the hit show were asked to create a ‘dish fit for a Duchess’ using ingredients she handpicked from the pantry.
She asked them to whip up a dish using ingredients like honey, macadamia nuts, citrus, celeriac and her favourite, edible flowers.
As she unveiled a table laden with seasonal produce, Meghan told the contestants ‘my kids eat Brussels sprouts’, as judge Poh Ling Yeow could be heard saying ‘that’s impressive’.
The Duchess, whose Netflix series With Love, Meghan was recently nominated for a Daytime Emmy, also had a few words of wisdom for the contestants as she acknowledged ‘there is a lot of pressure in this kitchen’.
‘I don’t like to cook that way; I like to cook in a really relaxed fashion,’ she said.
‘So, all I can say to the competitors is to just remember to have fun, to keep a sense of humour about it, and to cook from the heart.’
Meghan added that ‘food and cooking are how I show my nurturing and love for my friends, family and my kids’ in a sweet nod to her children.
She told the contestants: ‘The hope is that you’ll really hone in on one (item) as your hero item. These are all things that, for me, feel really nostalgic. And I love if there’s a connection that you can find when, as you’re cooking something, you ask: what is the story behind it? It almost feels like an heirloom, right? What is something from your family or from a memory, something sentimental that we can also taste as we taste your dish?’
Meghan then went on to proudly boast that both her children – Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet – enjoy eating Brussels sprouts and encouraged MasterChef Australia contestants to ‘keep a sense of humour’
The former actress has said her love of good food and Australia were the two reasons she chose to be a guest judge on the country’s biggest cooking show
Meghan has said her love of good food and Australia were the two reasons she chose to be a guest judge on the country’s biggest cooking show.
‘What attracted me to the MasterChef Australia kitchen? Two things: my love of food and my love of Australia. It was an easy yes,’ she said in a press release announcing the broadcast date.
‘It’s such a great show. I’m just really honoured that I was asked to be here with you and to be able to judge some of these meals.’
Meghan earned a surprise Daytime Emmy nomination for her axed Netflix cooking series – eight years after she ‘politely turned down’ an invite to the glitzy awards.
She launched the first series of With Love, Meghan on the streaming platform in March 2025, alongside unveiling her lifestyle brand As Ever.
A second series and Christmas special followed, with the mother-of-two offering hosting tips and cooking lessons from inside a rented multimillion-dollar mansion near her and Prince Harry’s Montecito home.
