Prince Harry’s protective gesture towards Meghan Markle during a milestone royal appearance is the focus of a new viral video after footage taken in the aftermath of Queen Elizabeth II’s death in 2022 resurfaced online.

Harry and Meghan will celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary in May. Since splitting from the monarchy in 2020, the couple has spoken in-depth about their relationship across a number of media projects. In his memoir Spare, Harry recounted events that unfolded on the day his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, died and how he had been in Britain at the time to attend charity events with Meghan.

Despite tensions between the couple and members of the royal family still being apparent to the public after being laid bare by Harry and Meghan in their interview with Oprah Winfrey a year earlier, they were reunited in the wake of the monarch’s death.

On September 10, 2022, two days after the queen had died, the couple made their first joint appearance with Prince William and Princess Kate in over two years. The in-laws stepped out together presenting a united front in grief to view floral tributes and meet members of the public outside the gates of Windsor Castle.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex in Windsor, England, on September 10, 2022. Footage of Harry’s PDA with Meghan went viral on TikTok. KIRSTY O’CONNOR – WPA POOL/GETTY IMAGES
Captioned “he will always cover her back!” the clip has been viewed over 22,000 times so far, receiving in excess of 4,800 likes and over 150 comments, many of which have praised the couple.

“What a great man you are Harry; you’re a real prince,” wrote one TikTok user.

“Lovely couple,” posted another, with a further comment reading: “[It] is so Beautiful to see.”

Harry and Meghan’s PDA during the mourning events for the late queen between her death and state funeral was not always universally well received. When the pair were spotted holding hands during the monarch’s lying-in-state ceremony at Westminster Hall on September 14 they were criticized by some social media users and commentators as being disrespectful.

This didn’t deter the couple who were reportedly once again spotted hand-in-hand during the queen’s state funeral at Westminster Abbey five days later.