Kate Middleton Described as ‘Ruthless’ After Report She Was Behind Palace’s Response to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Oprah Interview
“Ruthless” isn’t a word that comes to mind for most people when they think of the Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton). But that’s exactly how a royal expert is describing her after it was reported that Prince William’s wife was insistent that the Palace stick with its direct response following Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.
There have been reports that the Sussexes’ interview caused the late Queen Elizabeth to cry, had William so sick he couldn’t eat, and enraged several other royals. While we may never know for sure what each member of the Firm was feeling at the time, we do know that the Palace released its response saying “recollections may vary.” And Kate reportedly wouldn’t have it any other way.
What Meghan said about Kate in her interview with Oprah
During her sit-down with the former talk show host, the Duchess of Sussex was asked if she made her sister-in-law cry. Meghan denied that and said it was the other way around, alleging Kate made her cry.
“A few days before the wedding, she was upset about something pertaining to — yes, the issue was correct about flower girl dresses, and it made me cry, and it really hurt my feelings,” Meghan told Oprah. “And I thought in the context of everything else that was going on in those days leading to the wedding that it didn’t make sense to not be just doing what everyone else was doing, which was try to be supportive, knowing what was going on with my dad and whatnot.”
Prince Harry backed up his wife’s claim with some details in his memoir Spare. However, we have never and likely never will hear Kate’s side of things.
But while the whole bridesmaid dress story wasn’t one of the most serious accusations the couple made during that interview, it reportedly wasn’t something the now-Princess of Wales was willing to shrug off.
‘Ruthless’ Kate insisted the Palace stick with its direct response to the interview
Royal expert and author Tessa Dunlop spoke to The Mirror about the alleged bad blood between the royal ladies and claimed: “It turned out that the bridesmaid squabble was just the tip of the iceberg.”
Dunlop continued: “And now we discover it was Kate who doggedly insisted Buckingham Palace punch back with that famous phrase: ‘some recollections may vary.’ While it is unclear which private secretary inserted the vital line, Kate pressed for its retention, insisting ‘history will judge this statement.’ She claimed that to say nothing would add weight to Harry and Meghan’s bombshell interview. This unequivocal stance should not surprise us.”
The expert added that the princess can be quite “ruthless” and saw Meghan as nothing more than a “Hollywood disrupter.”
“Kate speaks the same cultural language as the royal household she works alongside,” Dunlop explained. “She clearly saw Meghan as a Hollywood disrupter trying to bring down the institution that the Princess of Wales has staked her entire identity on.
“Kate, one day [a] future Queen, knows how to play the long game. Quiet, canny, and considered … Meghan discovered her clothes-loving sister-in-law with her ‘heavily disguised silly side’ (according to Spare) also has a ruthless streak. An essential ingredient for any royal incomer who plans to stay the course.”
