Meghan Markle Speaks Fluent Spanish in Candid Netflix Polo Moment with Prince Harry

The Duchess of Sussex practiced her Spanish on the sidelines of the Royal Salute Polo Challenge — and cracked a joke about Harry’s Spanish skills

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the Royal Salute Polo Challenge benefitting Sentebale in Wellington, Florida on April 12, 2024. Photo: Yaroslav Sabitov/PA Images/ Getty

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s new docuseries Polo on Netflix might be all about the glamorous world of the equestrian sport the Duke of Sussex plays, but the Duchess of Sussex also showed off one of her skills on the show.

On Dec. 10, Polo premiered on Netflix from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Archewell Productions. The five-episode documentary series follows some of the world’s greatest polo players on the road to the 2024 U.S. Open Polo Championship in Wellington, Florida. Viewers also get to see Prince Harry, 40, saddle up and ride in the Royal Salute Polo Challenge benefitting his charity, Sentebale, in Wellington in April, where Meghan, 43, flexes her Spanish language skills.

As seen on screen, Meghan and legendary polo player Adolfo Cambiaso met on the sidelines of the match, where the Argentinian polo star was playing on the same team as Harry. Cambiaso initiated a handshake with the Duchess, but Meghan went in for a hug, and Prince Harry proudly said, “She’s fluent in Spanish.”

“Really?” Cambiaso, 49, asked in Spanish before he and the Duchess of Sussex switched to speaking in Spanish.

(From left) Dana Barnes, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Adolfo Cambiaso and Malcolm Borwick at the Royal Salute Polo Challenge benefitting Sentebale at Grand Champions Polo Club on April 12, 2024 in Wellington, Florida.Jason Koerner/Getty

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“I lived there about 20 years ago. In Palermo Viejo. Las Canitas too,” Meghan said, according to a translation. While attending college at Northwestern University, the Duchess of Sussex interned at the U.S. Embassy in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and seemingly referenced where she lived during that time in conversation with Cambiaso.

“That’s great. That’s where the polo fields were,” he said, and the Duchess of Sussex added that she loves “the 25th of May,” which is Argentina’s national day.

Turning to Harry, Cambiaso asked, “Do you speak Spanish?” which made Meghan laugh and say “Yes,” as she put an arm on her husband.

“He knows I don’t!” Prince Harry exclaimed about his own Spanish-language skills, before countering, “Well, yes. A little, a little.”

(From left) Adolfo Cambiaso, Malcom Borwick, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex and Dana Barnes compete during the Royal Salute Polo Challenge benefitting Sentebale at Grand Champions Polo Club on April 12, 2024 in Wellington, Florida.Jason Koerner/Getty

It’s a little-known fact that the Duchess of Sussex is fluent in Spanish, a language she honed during her internship in Argentina and while studying abroad in Madrid, Spain.

Meghan spoke Spanish during her trip to Colombia with Prince Harry in August, where the Duke of Sussex followed his wife’s lead and also leaned into speaking Spanish.

Prince Harry and Meghan both practiced their Spanish while visiting a kindergarten class at Santa Fe school Colegio La Giraldaon on Aug. 16, the second day of their trip to the South American country. Harry asked pupils their names and ages in the language, and Meghan brought up their 5-year-old son, Prince Archie, in conversation with a child.

Meghan Markle at Colegio La Giralda school in Bogota, Colomiba on Aug. 16, 2024.Eric Charbonneau/Archewell Foundation via Getty

“You’re the same age as my son, Archie!” she told a student in Spanish. (The Duke and Duchess of Sussex also share 3-year-old daughter, Princess Lilibet.)

Later during the trip, which the couple made at the invitation of Colombian Vice President Francia Márquez, Meghan gracefully spoke Spanish during a panel discussion uplifting Afro-Colombian women. The Duchess of Sussex soon hit the stage at the event, removed an earpiece in a seemingly impromptu move and spoke in Spanish. According to sussex.com, she expressed “her deep appreciation for the Colombian hospitality. She praised the culture and history of the country, describing the visit as a dream and highlighting the strong sense of community she felt.”

Meghan Markle in Cali, Colombia on Aug. 18, 2024.RAUL ARBOLEDA/AFP via Getty

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In a relatable move, Meghan playfully mimed wiping sweat from her forehead after talking in Spanish, as the crowd applauded before she switched to speaking in English.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s trip to Colombia was their most major recent joint engagement, and Polo on Netflix is their latest shared creative endeavor. Prince Harry and Meghan both served as executive producers for the sporty series, and executive producer and showrunner Miloš Balać tells PEOPLE it was “wonderful” to work with the couple.

(Left) Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at the Royal Salute Polo Challenge benefitting Sentebale at the UPSA National Polo Center in Wellington, Florida on April 12, 2024. (Right) A promotional poster for “POLO” on Netflix.Jason Koerner/Getty; Netflix

“Working with them was definitely special. I think they were amazing collaborators that brought so much energy and passion to the project as a whole. Polo is one of Prince Harry’s greatest passions. It seems that Meghan has adopted it as one of hers too, just in terms of being his partner,” Balać told PEOPLE ahead of the premiere.

“She also loves the sport, and it was really fun to talk to her about what she loves about [it]. And Harry comes at it from the athlete perspective, so it was great to have both of those perspectives to help inform how I would go about sharing this world.”