When Did Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton’s Relationship Really Go Sour?
Headlines from around the globe insist that the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex haven’t spoken a word to one another since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made the decision to step down from royal duties. If headlines, stretching back months, are to be believed, the sisters-in-law hadn’t really seen eye-to-eye for a long time. In fact, rumor has it that the pair were on the outs before Markle even married into the royal family. So, when exactly did their relationship spoil, or did they never really have one, to begin with?
Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton were never going to be friendly
Rumors spread quickly that the Duchess of Cambridge left a bridal fitting in tears long before Markle became a member of the family. According to an insider, there was a minor dispute over Princess Charolette’s dress during the lead up to the royal wedding, but an actual feud wasn’t born. The insider alleges that Middleton and Markle are just two very different people, and they were never going to forge a friendship, regardless of what their respective princes and the public wanted.
A royal expert, Katie Nicholl, told Glamour that while the headlines of a catfight are surely tantalizing, the pair are just two different people who don’t feel the urge to pretend they are friends. She does admit that there has been reported tension between the two, but that they quickly agreed to put on a united front for the public.
Prince William might be the actual problem
While it is no secret that Markle and Middleton aren’t the very best of friends, insiders claim that any bad blood between the royal couples is strictly caused by the princely brothers. According to Cosmopolitan, Prince Harry and Prince William might be at the root of the rift between Markle and Middleton. According to an insider, Prince Harry didn’t feel like his older brother was making the same effort to welcome his new bride, that he did when Prince William brought Middleton into the family.
In a documentary regarding the duchesses, Nicholl suggested that Prince William was concerned about the speed at which his younger brother’s relationship intensified. After all, Prince Willian and Middleton took their relationship painfully slow. The British press dubbed her “waity Katie”, due to how long they had been together without a proposal. The couple first met in 2001 while in college. They began their formal relationship in 2003 but didn’t marry until 2011. Prince Harry and Markle, on the other hand, met in July 2016. They announced their engagement in November 2017 and married on May 19, 2018.
From the sounds of it, Middleton and Markle’s rift was more about respecting their respective husbands than any problem they had with one another. If the princes were feuding, it would make sense that their wives would stay away from each other. After all, Markle was reasonably new to the royal life, and, based on the fact that she and the prince have now stepped down, wasn’t acclimating particularly well, anyway.
Kate Middleton is staying quiet about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s decision
It is believed that Middleton hasn’t spoken to Markle since she and Prince Harry decided to step away from royal life. The decision, which shocked the world, was made after the British press hounded the couple after repeated warnings to leave them alone. Everyone seems to have an opinion about the decision, and most are more than happy to air those opinions publicly. Middleton, however, is staying quiet.
According to New Idea, both Prince William and Prince Charles have reached out to Prince Harry to lend him a friendly ear. The couple has chosen to settle in Canda for now, but it appears that the paparazzi culture may be far more dangerous to their well-being than the British press ever was. Allegedly, the princes want Prince Harry to know he has an open invitation to head back to the United Kingdom if the move proves itself to have been a big mistake. Where Markle fits into those conversations is unknown.
So, when did their relationship turn sour?
In short, it doesn’t look like their relationship ever did turn sour, because there was never a strong relationship, to begin with. Yes, both Markle and Middleton married into the same royal family. Yes, they are both expected to show up at the same events. Just like any other traditional family, there is no rule that sisters-in-law, or brothers-in-law for that matter, need to be the very best of friends.
When all is said and done, it appears that Middleton and Markle were never going to be pictured, spending much one-on-one time together, and while that may trouble the press, it doesn’t mean there is a crazy feud brewing. It seems more likely that the pair simply don’t have much in common. They appear more ambivalent to one another than anything else.
