Kate Middleton Reportedly Felt ‘Lonely’ After Meghan Markle Left the Royal Family

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle were never best friends, but the two women also didn’t really have the chance to be. Meghan married Prince Harry back in 2018, and the rift between Harry and his older brother, Prince William, seemingly started right around that time. As a result, Meghan and Kate didn’t become the best friends people had hoped they’d be, but that doesn’t mean that Kate didn’t feel lonely when Harry and Meghan made a surprising royal exit in 2020.

Kate Middleton reportedly felt ‘lonely’ when Meghan Markle left the royal family

Some might say the royal family is lacking high-ranking women. Queen Elizabeth II died in 2022, and William’s mother, the late Princess Diana, tragically lost her life in 1997. And when Meghan left the family in 2020, it didn’t leave Kate with too many people to lean on. There were already so few women who understood what it was like to be a member of the British royal family.

“Being in the royal family is a lonely place, and Kate’s got very few people now, especially after the Queen’s death, who she can go to and confide in,” royal expert Duncan Larcombe told OK! Magazine UK, per Express. “The fact that things didn’t work out with Meghan was a real blow, because Prince Harry’s bride would have been another person stuck in the same situation.”

Larcombe likened Kate and Meghan’s potential to the relationship between Princess Diana and Sarah Ferguson, which was always strong. “Think back to when Diana and Fergie were always giggling and would help each other let off steam … Kate hasn’t got that.” These days, Kate only has Camilla Parker Bowles to lean on, and while she likely has a fine relationship with Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, it doesn’t appear that she spends a ton of time with them.

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle never had a chance to be best friends

Kate and Meghan never stayed close, but they also didn’t really have the opportunity to get to know each other. By the time Meghan wed Harry in 2018, Harry’s relationship with William was already cracking behind the scenes. Meghan and Kate took sides, each choosing to remain on their husband’s team, which was expected — but it created a divide between the two women that otherwise probably wouldn’t have been there.

When Meghan talked about Kate during her interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, she made a point to say that Kate is a “good person.” Had Meghan not believed that, she wouldn’t have said it. And when Meghan and Kate did get the chance to hang out, such as during their Wimbledon appearances, they always seemed to have a genuinely good time together. Of course, as things between their husbands got worse, they pulled the plug on their own friendship before it ever got off the ground.

Is there room for Meghan and Kate to be friends down the road? It’s hard to say. But if Harry and William ever patch things up, the odds are that Meghan and Kate will get along just fine.