PRINCESS KATE’S TRUE FEELINGS ABOUT MEGHAN MARKLE “LAID BARE” AFTER A LONG SILENCE… AND THE SHIFT HAS PEOPLE TALKING
Princess Kate’s true feelings about Meghan Markle laid bare after silence
A royal biography claims to show Princess Kate’s true feelings towards Meghan Markle and Prince Harry
Princess Catherine with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (Image: PA)
Royal insiders have lifted the lid on what truly unfolded behind closed doors in the lead-up to Megxit — and why an early instinct about the duchess rang true.
A fresh wave of excitement swept through royal fans in February 2018. For the first time, Prince William, Princess Catherine, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took to the stage together to announce that Meghan would be joining as a fourth patron of the Royal Foundation.
It appeared to herald the dawn of a new era. The two couples were swiftly christened the “Fab Four” and the future of the Firm seemed to be in capable hands.
Yet, tellingly, it would prove to be their only official joint charity engagement. The seemingly promising alliance was fleeting. Just two years later, Harry and Meghan would walk away from royal duties and embark on a series of very public attacks on his family.
Now, the Sussexes are essentially estranged from the remainder of the Royal Family — a deeply unfortunate situation, not least because Princess Catherine once shared a remarkably close, sisterly bond with Harry.
It now appears she swiftly grew cautious of her future sister-in-law, according to a candid biography.
William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story (Image: undefined)
William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story has been written by the Mirror’s royal editor Russell Myers, drawing upon his extensive years covering the royal couple, and was published on February 26. It marks the first joint biography of the Prince and Princess of Wales in more than a decade.
Here’s how Catherine’s relationship with Harry and Meghan fell apart…
Kate’s three-word Meghan verdict
Much has been made of William and Catherine’s first meeting encounter with Meghan, though there have been certain inconsistencies regarding recollections of their first interaction. During Harry and Meghan’s engagement interview, the couple discussed how William and Catherine responded to the newest addition to the royal family.
Harry said: “William was longing to meet her, and so was Catherine. So, you know, being our neighbours, we managed to get that in a couple of – well, quite a few times now, and Catherine has been absolutely…
The two royal couples in one of their public appearances (Image: Getty Images)
“She’s been wonderful,” Meghan interjected.
Yet in their tell-all Netflix series, Meghan characterised their first meeting as “jarring”. She said: “When Will and Kate came over, and I met her for the first time, they came over for dinner, I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot. I was a hugger. I’ve always been a hugger, I didn’t realise that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.
“I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside. There is a forward-facing way of being, and then you close the door and go ‘You can relax now’, but that formality carries over on both sides. And that was surprising to me.”
Harry also recounted that first meeting in his memoir, Spare. He said Meghan cooked and all seemed to be going well as they chatted about Wimbledon and the legal drama Suits.
He said: “The only possibly discordant note I could think of was the marked difference in how the two women dressed, which both of them seemed to notice. Meg: ripped jeans, barefoot. Kate: done up to the nines. No big deal, I thought.”
It appears the Princess approached the encounter with a degree of wariness. While she found Meghan ‘friendly’, she underscored the contrasts between them by saying there was a ‘touch of California’ about the Suits actress, Myers writes.
Harry and Meghan ‘not to be trusted’
Catherine showed less enthusiasm than William in trying to prevent Harry and Meghan from stepping back from royal duties, and considered Harry abandoning his position as “inevitable”, according to the royal book.
Having witnessed the breakdown in the relationship, the future queen ultimately decided she “could do no more to bring the brothers together” – despite previously serving as a “voice of reason” throughout the collapse of their bond. Moreover, she regarded the Sussexes as “not to be trusted” following their controversial Oprah Winfrey interview.
A source told Myers: “The whole situation with the Sussexes was just very sad and just as Philip had a degree of empathy and understanding with Catherine for coming from outside the family at the beginning, I would say Catherine had that for Meghan as well, at least at the start and she did do a lot to help her integrate into the family in the beginning.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Oprah interview (Image: undefined)
“But Meghan simply acted like she didn’t need or want her help, it was very matter of fact and you could say she just dismissed her, which hurt Catherine. There was a lot of sadness there, but that being said, she was very clear that any engagement with Harry or Meghan should be with the utmost of caution because it was obvious that they weren’t to be trusted.”
Catherine and Meghan’s disagreement that ignited their ‘ugly’ feud
While relations between the two brothers had been gradually worsening, a row involving Catherine and Meghan proved to be a significant catalyst in their estrangement, according to the book.
Referring to Harry’s demands for royal protection, Myers writes that the Duke’s concerns were further inflamed when his then-girlfriend Meghan “became a target on social media” during the early stages of their romance.
“Meghan became a target on social media owing to her biracial heritage and Harry demanded that action be taken,” one excerpt reads.
The two royal couples at a Christmas service before Megxit (Image: Getty Images)
“Royal aides informed him they were powerless to act, so he turned his attention to the royal protection teams funded by the Home Office. When told any such protection would not be provided until after he and Meghan were married, Harry was incredulous and appealed to his father and brother to intervene.
“The (then) Prince of Wales insisted he could not become involved in a government decision, especially one where any costs would be footed by taxpayers, but Harry was well aware that Catherine had not only received unofficial guidance from the palace when merely his brother’s girlfriend, but that she had also qualified for round-the-clock protection as soon as they became engaged. One rule for him and another for me, Harry thought.
“Prince Charles’s decision was final, though, and William’s subsequent unwillingness to help sparked a row that ignited a long-running and ugly feud.”
William’s heartache over Harry’s ‘paranoid’ transformation
In 2019, Meghan and Harry embarked on a royal tour of South Africa, producing a documentary alongside ITV’s Tom Bradby about the trip, during which Meghan openly admitted she had been struggling, while Harry revealed he and his brother were on “different paths”.
The public appearance where the royal couples were dubbed the ‘Fab Four’ (Image: PA)
According to Myers, the programme solidified something in William’s mind, revealing to the future king and queen just how dramatically things had shifted between themselves and Harry. William also believed Harry had grown “paranoid” — despite his own efforts to support him.
“He [William] felt as though somewhere down the line, perhaps it is impossible to even say when, that he lost his brother,” a source close to William told to Myers.
“He became paranoid, angry, obsessive and firmly rooted in the past. There’s no doubt, at that time at least, there was a lot of love and support available for Harry.”
It has been widely reported – and Harry has himself admitted – that William cautioned his younger brother to proceed carefully with Meghan.
“It’s easy to forget now, given everything that has gone on,” the author quotes an insider as saying. “But William did find Meghan quite refreshing at first. He was genuinely happy for Harry and only wanted the best for him.”
