In a surprise television appearance that has divided critics and viewers across the globe, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, stepped into the role of guest judge on the hit cooking competition series MasterChef Australia this week, with an unplanned cameo from her husband Prince Harry that sent audiences and contestants buzzing.
The episode was filmed in Melbourne back in April, during a four-day private working tour of Australia that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex undertook after stepping back from their official senior royal roles. The trip balanced engagements with local charitable organizations with commercial events, a standard structure for the couple’s post-royal public appearances.
From the opening moments of the episode, Meghan pushed back against formal royal title conventions, asking her fellow judges and contestants alike to “call me Meghan,” even as the weekly cooking challenge tasked competitors with transforming a common staple ingredient into a dish “fit for a duchess.” When asked early in the show to name her favorite home-cooked dish, Meghan opened up about family life with Prince Harry and their two children, Archie and Lilibet. She joked that catering to different tastes at home is no easy feat: her British-born husband prefers classic hearty meals of meat, potatoes, and cream sauce, while she leans toward lighter grilled fish. She added that both of her children love helping in the kitchen and are adventurous eaters, saying “we’re really lucky on that front.” Before tasting contestants’ dishes, she urged the homegrown chefs to share the personal story behind their recipes, encouraging them to cook food that felt authentic to them.
The most talked-about moment of the episode came mid-taping, when Prince Harry placed an unexpected check-in video call to his wife. Producers passed the phone to Meghan, who greeted him with “hi, my love” before introducing him to the shocked studio audience and competitors. She gushed to Harry that the contestants’ dishes looked incredible and held the phone up to show off the spread, before the Duke signed off politely, apologizing for interrupting and telling her to enjoy the rest of the judging. After the moment, Meghan affectionately described Harry as “a charmer.”
Meghan’s guest appearance and Harry’s surprise cameo have drawn sharply mixed reactions from critics and social media users alike. UK publication The Sunday Times dismissed the entire episode as “one big gush-fest,” with columnist Charlotte Ivers arguing that the appearance offered no meaningful insight into Meghan’s personality and added nothing to the actual competition. On the other side of the debate, Hello Magazine praised Meghan for her warm, natural presence, writing that “The Duchess of Sussex gave personal time to all the contestants, proving that she’s always so effortlessly elegant,” and noting that she had made the episode her own. Social media reactions mirrored this split: one viewer called Meghan “warm, gracious and a delight to watch” while another dismissed Harry’s unplanned cameo as “cringe.”
This guest spot on MasterChef Australia is not Meghan’s first foray into food-focused television. She currently fronts the Netflix lifestyle and cookery series *With Love, Meghan*, where she shares cooking and home hosting tips alongside celebrity and personal guests. The series recently earned a nomination for a Daytime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Lifestyle Program category.
The appearance comes amid a busy few weeks for the Sussexes. Earlier this month, the couple traveled to the UK with Archie and Lilibet for a private visit, where they held a quiet meeting with King Charles III and Queen Camilla at Highgrove House. Meghan did not make any public appearances during that trip, amid an ongoing dispute over personal security arrangements for the couple when they are in the UK. Earlier this week, Meghan shared a carousel of family photos on Instagram capturing the Sussexes’ ongoing summer holiday, featuring multiple candid shots of Archie and Lilibet enjoying time together.