Royally complex Prince William Duchess Kate’s relationship with Prince Harry Meghan MarkleSince the Duke of Sussex and Duchess have met, this topic has been a subject of much debate.
Harry welcomed Kate to his royal family in 2003, when they began dating. Harry developed a close bond to his sister-inlaw after she married her older brother in 2011. However, the younger prince “felt very much like a spare wheel,” royal expert Katie NichollSubmitted Entertainment TonightIn July 2020.
Harry experienced what it was like to be part of a royal family in 2016 when he began dating Meghan. They became popular with the public quickly, but his family was less excited about the partnership, which led to tension between William and Harry.
Rumors of a rift between Kate and Meghan — and later, William and Harry — took hold, but the foursome put on a united front when the cameras were pointed toward them. Harry gave up the façade in October 2019, finally admitting that the feud speculation was not baseless.
The situation devolved in January 2020 after Meghan and Harry announced their decision to “step back” as senior members of the royal family. After a summit with Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Charles, William and Harry, the Sussexes resigned as working royals and relocated to the United States in March 2020. The coronavirus epidemic caused separation between the couple and their relatives for over a decade. They confirmed in February 2021 they would not be returning to their positions.
Harry, William and Kate reunited in April 2021 for Prince Philip’s funeral in the U.K., while Meghan was not allowed to travel at the time since she was in the late months of her second pregnancy. The trio appeared friendly as they spoke after the service, but author Robert LaceyClaim in a June 2021 Daily Mail op-ed that, privately, the siblings were “at each other’s throats as fiercely as ever.”
Amid their husbands’ feud, Kate and Meghan had not talked “directly in over a year,” a source told Us WeeklyMarch 2021. “They were never that close, but the reason they’re not speaking is because of the rift between Prince Harry and Prince William. While William and Harry have communicated only sparingly over this year, they have not been in contact for a while. There is real animosity that the brothers have toward one another, and that has spilled over to Meghan and Kate’s relationship, making it very hard for them to be friends or even friendly.”
Scroll through the gallery below to revisit the Fab Four’s strained relationship through the years.
