It’s no secret that princess kate (née Middleton) and duchess meghan (née Markle) haven’t been the best of friends since the US native officially joined the royal family in May 2018. In fact, there have been rumors for years that the two aren’t on good terms. Meghan and Kate are both beautiful and sophisticated women, both were just commoners before marrying into royalty, and since they are so close in age, the public thought the two would hit it off very well. Although neither of them have directly addressed their feud, their strained relationship has been well documented.
The tension between Kate and Meghan seemed to affect their husbands. In October 2019, prince harry opened up about his relationship with his older brother, prince william and revealed that it’s not always easy to navigate between siblings. “Part of this role and part of this job, this family is under the pressure that it is under, inevitably, you know, things happen. We are brothers, we will always be brothers,” the red-haired royal said in an ITV documentary called Harry and Meghan: an African journey. “We’re certainly on different paths at the moment, but I’ll always be there for him, and as I know, he’ll always be there for me.”
The Duke of Sussex continued: “We don’t see each other as much as we used to because we’re so busy, but you know, I love him so much, and most of these things [in the press] It’s created out of nothing, but as you know, as brothers, you have good days, you have bad days.”
Harry and Meghan raised a few eyebrows when they decided to part ways with the royal foundation they established with William and Kate in May 2019.
So what started the tension between everyone? In the documentary, Kate v. Meghan: Princesses at war?, vanity fairreporter katie nicholl said William was worried that his brother had too much of a crush on Meghan when they started dating in 2016. “William was quite worried that the relationship had moved so fast. And being close to Harry, probably the only person close enough to say to Harry, ‘This seems to be moving fast, are you sure?’” he said.
It seems that Kate took William’s side, as she also had tension with Meghan herself. The week of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s royal wedding in 2018, reports surfaced that Meghan brought Kate to tears during a fitting of the Duke of Cambridge’s daughter Charlotte’s flower girl dress. That November, a royal reporter also claimed that Harry was upset that William was not welcoming enough to the Suits alum.
Tensions between family members escalated further when Harry and the former Hollywood star stepped down as royals in January 2020 and moved to Los Angeles with their son Archie in March. The Sussexes added more fuel to the royal feud fire when they opened up about their mental health struggles and the alleged racism they faced in a revealing CBS interview in March 2021.
Scroll through the gallery below for more details on Kate and Meghan’s friendship status.
