Kate Middleton Always Knew Harry and Meghan Would Part Ways With The Royal Family
New book suggests Kate knew very early on that Meghan entering the royal fold would eventually break the Fab Four.
For years, Prince William, Princess Kate, Prince Harry, and Meghan Markle—often called the Fab Four—seemed like a united team ready to lead the Royal Family. But away from the cameras, things were much more tense between them, so much so that, as per an upcoming book, the Princess of Wales sensed early on that the Duchess of Sussex’s arrival would eventually cause the group to part ways. Royal Editor Russell Myers’ William & Catherine: The Intimate Inside Story explores the ‘toxic’ atmosphere that defined the couple’s relationship long before Harry and Meghan left the firm in 2020.
While the Princess of Wales is often viewed as the Royal Family’s primary peacemaker, the book suggests she reached a breaking point regarding Harry and Meghan’s conduct. Myers reports that Kate’s initial hope—that the friction between the once inseparable brothers was merely “rooted in immaturity or stubbornness”—eventually faded. The turning point reportedly came down to those working within the palace walls. “Harry and Meghan’s attitude towards palace staff, who she and William cared about, set the couples on an entirely different course,” Myers penned in his book.
As the internal culture shifted, Princess Kate reportedly found the Duchess’s personality to be a poor fit for the royal fold. A source cited in the book noted, “Meghan was being bullish, Kate found her abrasive. She saw the inevitability of the parting of ways, although perhaps not to the extent of what eventually happened.” Following Harry and Meghan’s high-profile 2018 wedding, the Prince and Princess of Wales allegedly felt that the Sussexes weren’t just being 'difficult' but were operating with a ‘specific’ agenda in mind. This suspicion created a ‘pretty toxic’ environment between the two households. Myers highlighted, “They definitely thought the Sussexes’ behaviour stemmed from something more than being difficult.”
The seeds of discord between Kate and Meghan might have started the very first time they met—a meeting that both women have described in vastly different tones over the years. In 2017, during her engagement interview, the Duchess was very polite about the Princess of Wales, even calling her ‘wonderful.’ But by 2022, there was a notable change in the relationship, with Meghan describing the royal household as being cold and too formal, which was ‘surprising’ to her as an American. Recalling a dinner at Kensington Palace, Meghan said, “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…And that was surprising to me.”
For years, Kate had taken the responsibility of being the ‘voice of reason’ during the brothers’ arguments. However, as per Myers, she soon realized that the Sussexes wanted to go in a completely different direction, so she decided to stop trying to fix their relationship.
