The relationship between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton is known to be strained.
Despite Prince Harry’s efforts to mend ties with the royal family, the rift between him and his elder brother, Prince William, appears to be widening. The tension seems to extend to their wives as well.
However, this wasn’t always the case. In a rare interview with Harry, Meghan once spoke highly of Kate. Before the Sussexes decided to step back from royal duties and publicly voice their grievances, it seemed that the “Fab Four” would remain close-knit.
When Meghan and Harry announced their engagement in November 2017 via an official statement from Clarence House, they sat down for an interview with former BBC journalist Mishal Husain, reports the Mirror.
During the discussion, Meghan commended the royal family, the Queen, and her future sister-in-law Kate for their warm welcome.
Harry recounted how they kept their relationship private for a while, noting that William was eager to meet his girlfriend. He state, “William was longing to meet [Meghan] and so was Catherine, so you know, being our neighbours, we managed to get that in quite a few times now and Catherine has been absolutely.”
Interrupting Harry mid-sentence, Meghan described Kate as “wonderful.” However, Meghan later pointed out a significant difference between herself and Kate from the very beginning.
In her Netflix documentary Harry and Meghan, following the couple’s departure from Royal duties, the Duchess revealed, “Even when Will and Kate came over and I was meeting her for the first time I remember I was in ripped jeans, I was barefoot. Like I was a hugger, I have always been a hugger I didn’t realize that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.
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“I started to understand that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside, that there is a forward facing way of being and then you close the door and think ‘Okay, we can relax now.’ But that formality carries over on both sides and that was surprising to me.”
In his 2023 memoir, Spare, Harry elaborated on Meghan’s recollection of her initial encounter with Kate, detailing how both she and William appeared to appreciate his future bride after he introduced them during dinner.
“We’d had them over for dinner during one of Meg’s visits, and Meg cooked, and everything was good,” he penned. “Willy had a cold: he was sneezing and coughing, and Meg ran upstairs to get him some of her homeopathic cure-alls.
“Oregano oil, turmeric. He seemed charmed, moved, though Kate announced to the table that he’d never take such unconventional remedies.”
Harry continued, “The only possibly discordant note I could think of was the marked difference in how the two women dressed, which both of them seemed to notice,” he said. “Meg: ripped jeans, barefoot. Kate: done up to the nines. No big deal, I thought.”
In their Netflix series, Meghan Markle criticized their engagement interview, comparing it to an “orchestrated reality show.” She alleged she was instructed to “show the ring” and stated, “We weren’t allowed to tell our story.”
Mishal Husain, who led the interview, reacted to Meghan’s remarks in Saga magazine, stating, “When the Duchess of Sussex said that my engagement interview with her and Harry was an ‘orchestrated reality show’ I didn’t know what to make of it.
“They seemed to have thought through what their new lives would be like and what marriage would mean for her life in particular. There was nothing that pointed to what would happen. It was two people who were full of joy in each other and life.”
Merely five months post-interview, Meghan and Harry tied the knot on May 19, 2018, surrounded by numerous royals and celebrity friends. Less than two years later, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex stunned fans when they announced their decision to step back from the Royal family.