The charity worker cuddled by Meghan Markle has told of the incredible moment the royal bride-to-be brushed away her hand when she went to shake it – and hugged her instead.
Meghan broke with royal protocol to embrace Alice Thompson in a touching embrace when she visited the homeless centre with Prince Harry yesterday.
Recalling the meeting, Miss Thompson told MailOnline: ‘It was pretty lovely. I was so taken with her.
‘I told her that as a woman in business who had lived in the shadow of my male business partner for several years due to my own insecurities about my own ability to compete or perform, I found her speech she made in 2015 to the UN inspirational and motivating and that it encouraged me to speak up a bit more and be a girl boss.
‘She seemed really touched and a tad emotional. She said that she was really nervous to give that speech and that it meant a lot to her that it had inspired me to continue going with something like Social Bite.
Meghan Markle stepped away from royal custom when she embraced charity worker Alice Thompson during her visit to Edinburgh on Tuesday
‘At that point inside the shop she gave me a little cuddle, a little sideways squeeze. Then outside the shop I went to shake her hand and she nudged it out of the way and embraced me with a cuddle. It was definitely not out of the blue. It was a continuation of what happened inside.’
She added: ‘I wouldn’t know about any of the other Royals, but they were much more down to earth than I imagined. Before we came my business partner, Josh, was trying to get all the formalities right.
‘He was saying, ‘Okay, so it’s your Royal Highness and Miss Markle after first meeting, but what do we call him after that?’
The bride-to-be hugged the co-founder of homeless charity Social Bite after she revealed she had been inspired by Meghan’s 2015 UN Women’s speech
‘Personally, I’m rubbish at that stuff. At the end when they were leaving we had a laugh. I shook Harry’s hand and I said, “I’m so sorry, I haven’t called you Your Royal Highness once today”.
‘He laughed and said, ‘Don’t be silly’. They are really lovely genuine people, which was really nice. It made the whole day very comfortable.’
Previous visitors to the café have included actors George Clooney and Leo DiCaprio.
The Scottish charity Social Bite has been going for five years and provides employment to the homeless.
In December, it raised over £4 million for the homeless through a Sleep in The Park event, which saw business CEOs sleep out overnight in Edinburgh’s Princes Street Gardens.
Former Oasis rocker Liam Gallagher and singer Amy Macdonald provided entertainment.
Social Bite is currently developing a village for the homeless just outside Edinburgh.
Alice (pictured) said that she ‘loved’ the photo after it was shared on Twitter by a local university student
Recalling the meeting, Miss Thompson told MailOnline: ‘It was pretty lovely. I was so taken with her’
Ms Thompson also revealed that Prince Harry is “frustrated” by the numbers of homeless people on the streets of Britain.
‘They seemed just like really lovely people and are very invested in the cause,’ she said. ‘Prince Harry was really knowledgable about the homelessness scene in Britain and seemed equally frustrated, but optimistic about a new approach.
‘He implied that he found it frustrating moving around any city and seeing homeless people on the streets. He seemed to feel quite unsettled by that and he definitely didn’t hold back in displaying a passion for the fact that this is not an okay thing.
Speaking about her encounter with Meghan Markle, Alice Thompson told MailOnline: ‘She seemed really touched and a tad emotional. She said that she was really nervous to give that speech and that it meant a lot to her that it had inspired me to continue going with something like Social Bite’
‘He said we all go around with iPhones in our hands, but we need to look up and see what is going on around us and help people we can.
‘That was in reference to seeing people in need in these so-called well off countries like Britain. He seemed really passionate and I was really impressed with that.’
She added: ‘We didn’t even have to invite Prince Harry and Meghan. Buckingham Palace dropped us an email two weeks ago and said that Harry and Meghan were going to be coming and wanted to drop in.’
Social enterprise cafe distributes 100,000 items of food and hot drinks to the homeless each year (plus it’s been visited by George Clooney AND Leonardo DiCaprio)
Social Bite is a café network that distributes 100,000 items of food and hot drinks to the homeless each year.
The organisation runs social enterprise cafés throughout Scotland with the aim of tackling homelessness.
It employs staff who have faced homelessness themselves and are working on a housing project for the homeless.
George Clooney takes a selfie with staff as he visits Social Bite, the cafe in Edinburgh which helps the homeless, in November 2015
Leonardo DiCaprio with (from left) Colin Childs, Biffy Mackay and Sonny Murray as he visits Social Bite in Edinburgh in November 2016
The Duchess of Cornwall speaks to Bonnie Burton (right) as she donates money during a visit to Social Bite,in Edinburgh in June 2016
During their visit today, Harry and Meghan are learning more about the social enterprise and touring the kitchen.
The royal couple will be the latest in a string of high-profile visitors to Social Bite premises.
Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio stopped for lunch at Social Bite venture Home in Edinburgh’s west end in 2016.
Meanwhile the Duchess of Cornwall and actor George Clooney have been to Social Bite’s Rose Street branch.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit the Social Bite social enterprise, which distributes 100,000 items of food and hot drinks to homeless people across Scotland each year
The couple ended the day at the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where they met the First Minister during a reception to celebrate the achievements of young people in Edinburgh
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle smile as they meet well-wishers outside Edinburgh Castle on their visit to Scotland today
Harry and Meghan smile during their visit to the Social Bite social enterprise cafe in Edinburgh today
The cafe offers work to those without their own accommodation as part of efforts to end the homelessness issue in Scotland