Meghan Markle had her first solo outing on Tuesday 25 September when she attended the opening of the ‘Oceania’ art exhibit at the Royal Academy of Arts in London. She used this outing to her advantage and prepared for her upcoming New Zealand trip by performing a hongi – a traditional Māori greeting where two people press their forehead and nose together – with a number of her hosts.
Artist Sarah Hudson explained that they thought it would be a good bit of practice for the royal before she heads to the Pacific in October and that “it’s nice to be able to practice something that’s customary for us,” reported PEOPLE.
However, this isn’t the first time Meghan has been greeted with a hongi. That happened back in April, when she and her husband Prince Harry attended a dawn service on Anzac Day in London.
Members of the royal family are familiar with the traditional greeting, which takes the place of a formal handshake or a kiss on the cheek.
Prince Harry received a hongi from Kairanga kapa haka group performer Anicacane Papanui when he visited a London military camp in 2015.
He also performed another hongi in the same year.
Harry’s brother Prince William is also no stranger to the hongi. He performed the traditional greeting on a trip to the Christchurch City Council Buildings in April 2014. This trip was also the first official trip with his son Prince George.
William’s visit to Kapiti Island in January 2010 was part of his first official overseas trip as second-in-line to the throne.
William’s wife Kate Middleton performed the traditional greeting on a trip to Christchurch in April 2014.
She also received a hongi from a five-year-old girl on the same April 2014 trip.
Princess Diana was no stranger to the hongi – which roughly translates to the “sharing of a breath” – and performed it during a walkabout in Wellington, New Zealand in April 1983.
Diana traditionally greeted a Māori woman in Eden Park Stadium in April 1983.
Prince Charles was welcomed to the Government House in November 2015 by New Zealand Defence Force Flight Sergeant Wai Paenga.
Visitors are considered united with their hosts upon exchanging a hongi.
This traditional greeting can be lighthearted or very solemn and serious depending on the occasion.
Meghan and Harry are set to arrive in Sydney on October 16 to kick off their 16-day tour of Australia, Fiji, Tonga and New Zealand. The trip will see the couple attend the Invictus Games, which is an event created by Prince Harry for wounded or injured armed service members.
The Invictus Games will run from October 20 til October 27.
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