Princess of Wales and Meghan Markle had a ‘frosty but polite’ relationship before Megxit, royal expert claims
- Royal expert Tessa Dunlop says the sisters-in-law were ‘clearly not close’
- Read More: ‘It will make him a kinder King’ : Charles has great empathy after ‘merciless’ bullying at school by peers, former classmate claims
The Princess of Wales and Meghan Markle had a ‘frosty but polite’ relationship before Megxit, a royal expert has claimed.
During the Duchess of Sussex’s time as a working member of the Royal Family, the former Suits actress, 41, completed a handful of public engagements with her sister-in-law the Princess of Wales, 41.
Speaking to OK!, royal author Tessa Dunlop – who wrote the 2022 royal biography Elizabeth & Philip: A Story of Young Love, Marriage and Monarchy – said the two women were ‘clearly not that close’ when Meghan was still a working royal.
Summarising the pair’s relationship, the expert said: ‘[It was] frosty but polite’.
Although Meghan discussed her relationship with Kate during her Oprah interview in March 2021, Tessa says the public will never hear the Princess of Wales’ side of the story.
The Princess of Wales and Duchess of Sussex pictured at the Wimbledon final in June 2018. Royal expert Tessa Dunlop has said the two royal wives had a ‘frosty but polite’ relationship
She explained: ‘Kate is a well-mannered girl, she got brought up in a public school, she’s never going to dish the dirt, she’s never going to give what others want, no matter how often you pick the scab.’
What’s more, the expert previously told the publication how Kate had spent ‘years in training’ for her role in the Royal Family.
Discussing the royal wives’ differing approaches to their roles in the institution, Tessa said: ‘Kate’s values were deference, appropriate levels of self possession within a system, don’t rock the boat, you make change through embracing the institution almost, the paradox, Meghan’s the other way around.
‘They’re totally like inverted versions of each other.’
In his biography Spare, which hit shelves in January, Prince Harry claimed that Kate felt as though she had to ‘compete’ with his wife.
According to Prince Harry, there were a number of awkward moments during the Royal Foundation Forum in 2018.
It was to be the first, and only, royal engagement between the Dukes and Duchesses of Cambridge and Sussex, and at the time it was billed as an annual occasion.
However, Harry explains that following the event, there was ‘controversy’ over Meghan showing support for #MeToo, while Kate did not.
The Princess of Wales and Duchess of Sussex pictured together on Christmas Day in 2018. Royal expert Tessa Dunlop said Kate and Meghan were like ‘inverted versions of each other’
Left: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pictured on their wedding day in 2018. Right: The Prince and Princess of Wales with Prince George and Princess Charlotte at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s wedding
Bridesmaid dress-gate! How reports of Kate and Meghan arguing ahead of wedding unfolded
May 2018 – Meghan Markle and Prince Harry tie the knot in St George’s Chapel in Windsor
The bridesmaids, including Jessica Mulroney’s daughter Ivy and Princess Charlotte, have bare legs
November 2018 – The Telegraph’s royal editor Camilla Tominey wrote she had ‘spoken to two separate sources who claim Kate was left in tears following a bridesmaids dress fitting for Princess Charlotte’.
May 2020 – Tatler reports the two argued over protocol around young bridesmaids’ tights
March 2021 – Meghan confirms there was a disagreement in her bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview but says the Duchess of Cambridge actually made her cry.
Royal expert Katie Nicholl says Kate ‘never wanted’ reports of a rift to come out in the press and has found the situation ‘mortifying’
January 2023: Harry’s memoirs reveals new rifts between the Sussexes and the Wales
He details: ‘It wasn’t real. But I think it had Kate on edge, while putting her and everyone else on notice that she was now going to be compared to, and forced to compete with, Meg.’
One of the largest causes of the rift which has been made public is the row over bridesmaid dresses.
There were reports that Kate and Meghan clashed over bridesmaid dresses ahead of the wedding in 2018.
It was claimed Meghan had made Kate cry during a row over the outfits.
One unnamed friend claims Kate wanted to follow ‘protocol’, with the bridesmaids, including Charlotte, then three, wearing tights – but Meghan disagreed.
Harry writes that following the article, the foursome came together in Nottingham Cottage to discuss the story.
He pens: ‘Kate got things rolling straightaway by acknowledging that these stories in the papers about Meg making her cry were totally false.
“‘I know, Meghan, that I was the one who made you cry”‘.
Meghan ‘appreciated’ Kate’s apology over the situation, but asked what was being done to correct the issue.
He writes: ‘Why haven’t they phoned this execrable woman who wrote this story, and demanded a retraction? Kate, flustered, didn’t answer, and Willy chimed in with some very supportive-sounding evasions, but I already knew the truth.
‘No one at the Palace could phone the correspondent, because that would invite the inevitable retort: Well, if the story’s wrong, what’s the real story?
‘What did happen between the two duchesses? And that door must never be opened, because it would embarrass the future queen.’
In his book Revenge, Tom Bower claimed unnamed sources told him the Duchess of Cambridge and Duchess of Sussex disagreed over the length of Princess Charlotte’s hemline and the fit of her dress.
He also claimed Meghan’s ‘insistence’ was ‘supported’ by bridesmaid Jessica Mulroney, adding: ‘Some would say that Meghan compared Ivy [Mulroney’s daughter] favourably against Charlotte’.
The Duchess of Sussex later disagreed in her bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview, claiming it was the other way around and adding: ‘She [Kate] was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised. And she brought me flowers’.
Meghan also said: ‘It wasn’t a confrontation, and I actually think it’s… I don’t think it’s fair to her to get into the details of that, because she apologised.
‘What was hard to get over was being blamed for something that not only I didn’t do but that happened to me.
‘And the people who were part of our wedding were going to our comms team and saying: ‘I know this didn’t happen. I don’t have to tell them what actually happened’.’
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