Hannah Sergel says she's "still in shock" from her encounter with Meghan Markle on Tuesday, after the Duchess of Sussex recognised her from their old Instagram interactions.
The 20-year-old shared a video on Twitter of the moment Markle recognised Ms Sergel, who was carrying a sign reading 'Its Hannah from Instagram'.
"My gosh, how are you? It's so good to meet you," the Duchess tells her in the video, taking both of her hands before pulling her in for a hug.
"That's when everything went blurry," Ms Sergel told Newshub on Wednesday.
Tweets from the encounter capture Ms Sergel's excitement at that moment.
The video captured the attention of the world, with international outlets all approaching Sergel to ask about her experiences.
"This morning I did a radio interview for a station in Perth, [and] I've been contacted via twitter quite a bit from media in the UK and USA. It's been hectic," Ms Sergel said.
"Its so crazy... I'm literally all over the world."
To make things even more exciting (and even more Kiwi), photos of the meeting were messaged to Ms Sergel by Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.
Ms Sergel said the relationship between herself and the Duchess began long before she was royalty; they used to message each other and comment on each other's photos before Markle had her Instagram removed.
"She used to follow me on Instagram, and we used to chat occasionally and we'd comment on each other's photos," Ms Sergel recounted.
"Occasionally, she'd comment on my selfies - most memorable was 'beautiful' with a kissy emoji."
Ms Sergel says she would often ask the Duchess questions or tell her about her day.
"I'd tweet her and she'd reply with supportive messages," she said.
Ms Sergel says others in the crowd were nothing but supportive, congratulating her and telling her "it couldn't have happened to a nicer person".
The royal tour of New Zealand finishes up today, with Markle and her husband Prince Harry flying out of the country on Thursday.
Newshub.
