Kate Middleton's 'Hardest' Moment: Truth Behind Princess of Wales’ Show of Unity With Meghan Markle and Prince Harry at Late Queen Elizabeth's Funeral
Catherine, Princess of Wales, reportedly underwent a difficult set of moments at Queen Elizabeth II's State Funeral when it came to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
"Amid all the grief at the Queen's death, William, now Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, took decisive action," royal author Robert Jobson penned in his new book Catherine, the Princess of Wales: A Biography of the Future Queen. "Picking up the phone to Harry, he suggested that they and their wives put on a show of unity for the sake of their late grandmother by viewing the floral tributes at Windsor together. Harry accepted."
"The resulting images suggested they'd all slipped back into their Fab Four routine, but Catherine later admitted to a member of the royal family that such was the extent of ill-feeling between the couples, the walkabout had been the hardest thing she'd ever had to do," he pointedly added.
Privately, the tension could reportedly be "cut with a knife."
In fact, the Duke of Sussex was cornered and told off by the future queen just a mere few hours before the funeral, which was watched by billions, on September 19, 2022.
"Kate knew this was the only time she could talk to Harry before he closed himself off from the family again," an onlooker spilled. "After all, with so much going on between them, there was going to be zero chance at the actual ceremony."
Although Princess Kate appeared "stone cold" near Meghan at Elizabeth II's farewell, she did engage with Harry at Prince Philip's ceremonial funeral on April 17, 2021, which was the exact opposite of their reunion meeting 17 months later. This one-on-one was significant as it came only five weeks after the Oprah Winfrey interview.
"At his funeral, Catherine — exuding poise, calm and regal impregnability — took her place as one of the most senior royal family members, supporting the frail and grieving Queen and comforting Prince Charles," Jobson wrote. "She also deployed her diplomatic skills to try to deal with the bad blood between her husband and his brother as they both mourned their grandfather in silence."
The scribe continued: "Harry had walked quickly towards Catherine as he left the chapel behind her husband and other family members. Subtly, she increased her pace so they could catch up with William, a few steps ahead. She then fell back, to allow the brothers to walk next to each other and at least exchange a few words. It gave the public the impression that they were putting on a united front for their late grandfather, a welcome mini-truce in their feud."
It is widely reported that the former “Fab Four” have not communicated with one another in any fashion since Elizabeth II was laid to rest. The Sussex duo did release a statement earlier this year wishing the Princess of Wales well as she battled cancer.
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Newsweek reported on excerpts from Jobson's book.
