Kate Middleton and Prince William’s relationship with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle has been the subject of much speculation in recent years, and a biography by Russell Myers has shed light on it for the first time
Royal sources have revealed what really happened behind the scenes in the run-up to Megxit – and why an initial feeling about the duchess proved accurate.
A surge of enthusiasm rippled through royal enthusiasts in February 2018. For the first time, Prince William, Princess Catherine, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle appeared together on stage to reveal that Meghan would become a fourth patron of the Royal Foundation.
It seemed to signal the beginning of a fresh chapter. The two couples were quickly dubbed the “Fab Four” and the monarchy’s future looked to be in safe hands.
However, significantly, it would turn out to be their sole official joint charitable appearance. The apparently bright partnership was short-lived.
Just two years afterwards, Harry and Meghan would step back from royal responsibilities and launch a succession of highly public criticisms of his relatives, reports the Express.
Today, the Sussexes are effectively estranged from the rest of the Royal Family – a profoundly regrettable circumstance, particularly because Princess Catherine once enjoyed an exceptionally close, sisterly relationship with Harry.
It now seems she quickly became wary of her future sister-in-law, according to a revealing biography.
William and Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story has been authored by the Mirror’s royal editor Russell Myers, based on his considerable years reporting on the royal couple, and was published on February 26. It represents the first joint biography of the Prince and Princess of Wales in over a decade.
How Kate’s relationship with Harry and Meghan unravelled….
Kate’s three-word assessment of Meghan
Considerable attention has been paid to William and Catherine’s initial encounter with Meghan, although there have been some discrepancies in accounts of their first interaction. During Harry and Meghan’s engagement interview, the pair discussed how William and Catherine reacted to the newest member of the royal family.
Harry said: “William was longing to meet her, and so was Catherine. So, you know, being our neighbours, we managed to get that in a couple of – well, quite a few times now, and Catherine has been absolutely..
“She’s been wonderful,” Meghan interjected.
However, in their tell-all Netflix series, Meghan described their first meeting as “jarring”. She said: “When Will and Kate came over, and I met her for the first time, they came over for dinner, I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot. I was a hugger. I’ve always been a hugger, I didn’t realise that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.
“I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside. There is a forward-facing way of being, and then you close the door and go ‘You can relax now’, but that formality carries over on both sides. And that was surprising to me.”
Harry also recalled that initial meeting in his memoir, Spare. He said Meghan cooked and all seemed to be going well as they chatted about Wimbledon and the legal drama Suits.
He said: “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. Meg: ripped jeans, barefoot. Kate: done up to the nines. No big deal, I thought.”
It seems the Princess approached the occasion with a degree of caution. While she found Meghan ‘friendly’, she highlighted the differences between them by observing there was a ‘touch of California’ about the Suits actress, Myers writes.
Harry and Meghan ‘not to be trusted’
Catherine displayed less keenness than William in attempting to dissuade Harry and Meghan from withdrawing from royal responsibilities, and viewed Harry relinquishing his role as “inevitable”, according to the royal book.
Having observed the deterioration in the relationship, the future queen eventually concluded she “could do no more to bring the brothers together” – despite having previously acted as a “voice of reason” throughout the disintegration of their bond. Furthermore, she regarded the Sussexes as “not to be trusted” following their controversial Oprah Winfrey interview.
A source told Myers: “The whole situation with the Sussexes was just very sad and just as Philip had a degree of empathy and understanding with Catherine for coming from outside the family at the beginning, I would say Catherine had that for Meghan as well, at least at the start and she did do a lot to help her integrate into the family in the beginning.
“But Meghan simply acted like she didn’t need or want her help, it was very matter of fact and you could say she just dismissed her, which hurt Catherine. There was a lot of sadness there, but that being said, she was very clear that any engagement with Harry or Meghan should be with the utmost of caution because it was obvious that they weren’t to be trusted.”
Catherine and Meghan’s disagreement which ignited their ‘ugly’ feud
While relations between the two brothers had been steadily deteriorating, a dispute involving Catherine and Meghan emerged as a major turning point in their estrangement, the book claims.
Discussing Harry’s requests for royal security, Myers writes that the Duke’s worries were heightened when his then-girlfriend Meghan “became a target on social media” during the initial phase of their relationship.
“Meghan became a target on social media owing to her biracial heritage and Harry demanded that action be taken,” one excerpt reads. “Royal aides informed him they were powerless to act, so he turned his attention to the royal protection teams funded by the Home Office. When told any such protection would not be provided until after he and Meghan were married, Harry was incredulous and appealed to his father and brother to intervene.
“The (then) Prince of Wales insisted he could not become involved in a government decision, especially one where any costs would be footed by taxpayers, but Harry was well aware that Catherine had not only received unofficial guidance from the palace when merely his brother’s girlfriend, but that she had also qualified for round-the-clock protection as soon as they became engaged. One rule for him and another for me, Harry thought.
“Prince Charles’s decision was final, though, and William’s subsequent unwillingness to help sparked a row that ignited a long-running and ugly feud.”
William’s upset over Harry’s ‘paranoid’ transformation
In 2019, Meghan and Harry undertook a royal tour of South Africa, filming a documentary with ITV’s Tom Bradby about the visit, during which Meghan candidly acknowledged she had been finding things difficult, while Harry disclosed that he and his brother were on “different paths”.
According to Myers, the programme confirmed something in William’s mind, demonstrating to the future king and queen just how significantly matters had changed between themselves and Harry. William also felt Harry had become “paranoid” – despite his own attempts to support him.
“He [William] felt as though somewhere down the line, perhaps it is impossible to even say when, that he lost his brother,” a source close to William told to Myers.
“He became paranoid, angry, obsessive and firmly rooted in the past. There’s no doubt, at that time at least, there was a lot of love and support available for Harry.”
It has been extensively documented — and acknowledged by Harry himself — that William cautioned his younger brother to proceed carefully with Meghan.
“It’s easy to forget now, given everything that has gone on,” the author quotes an insider as saying. “But William did find Meghan quite refreshing at first. He was genuinely happy for Harry and only wanted the best for him.”
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