Royal Feud: How Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Falling Out with William and Kate Reportedly Started During a Christmas Celebration
Prince Harry was once extremely close with his brother, Prince William and his sister-in-law, Kate Middleton. All of them were known as a trio who often made public appearances together and could be seen laughing and enjoying themselves at any given time. However, once William brought supposed tension to Harry’s relationship with Meghan shortly after the couple began dating in 2016, things between all four of them were quickly divided.
Though the four allegedly tried to have a good connection, something was missing from the start. And the rift allegedly became clear during Christmas 2018.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been at odds with the royal family
When Harry and Meghan began dating in 2016, the couple were hopelessly in love and did their best to keep the relationship under wraps. It came out a few months later, and the two only dated for about a year and a half before Harry proposed in 2017. They wed in May 2018 — less than two years after they’d met — and it reportedly created tension between Harry and his brother because William felt Harry was moving too quickly.
In addition to the brotherly tension, Meghan was taking some serious heat in the tabloids, and the royals weren’t exactly running to her side to defend her. There was supposed concern about the couple on Charles’ end, too, and between that and the media bullying, Harry and Meghan left the royal family in 2020. The couple has not been on good terms with the other royals since.
Harry and Meghan’s drama with William and Kate reportedly started on Christmas 2018
The day the earth stood still (well, if you consider Kensington Palace to be the earth) supposedly happened around Christmas 2018, when both couples, who were still living on Kensington Palace grounds at the time, opted to have two different staff Christmas parties. To one royal expert, it was the first real understanding that things were getting to an irreversible place.
The news was first revealed in Harry and Meghan’s Netflix documentary. James Holt, executive director of Archewell Foundation, which is a nonprofit founded by Harry and Meghan, said the rift’s true start can be pinpointed to Christmas 2018, when the royals decided not to have a shared Christmas party.
“Every year Kensington Palace hosts a Christmas party for the principals and the staff,” Holt said. “And so we were gearing for one big party and very shortly before the party, it became two parties.” The couples had decided to separate their gatherings, which sent a major signal to the rest of the royal family. “Actually that was the point that you realize that these offices are separating,” Holt said.
It’s been more than four years since the Sussexes and Wales hosted two different Christmas parties — and if anything, things have only become more complicated between the couples. Harry will attend King Charles’ coronation on May 6, while Meghan will remain in California with the couple’s children. Now that Charles is king, it’s unclear if Harry and Meghan will try to work things out with the royal family.
