In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry admits there were tensions between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton from early in their relationship – and detailed their clear-the-air chat
As outsiders marrying into the Royal Family, the Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Sussex shared a common bond. Both led relatively carefree lives until they married into the most famous family in the world and had to navigate public scrutiny.
But despite this, the pair never really hit it off with their seemingly vastly different personalities and approaches to life meant there were tensions. In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry recounts several times that his wife seemed at loggerheads with his sister-in-law in the early days of their romance. He says the two women had a row over bridesmaid dresses in the lead-up to his wedding that left Meghan in tears and that Kate “grimaced” when the duchess borrowed her lipgloss.
But it seems the two women, Harry and Prince William decided to have a clear-the-air chat, shortly after the Sussexes’ honeymoon that was so tense, Kate’s fingers reportedly went white. Harry recounted the moment in his memoir after he and Meghan were invited over for tea.
He recalls how both couples aired their grievances including Kate, who asked for an apology from Meghan as she gripped a leather sofa so tightly her “fingers were white”. According to Spare, Kate wanted Meghan to say sorry for making a remark about her hormones and having “baby brain” while she was pregnant.
The book then recounts how Meghan apologised and explained that this is how she speaks to her friends. But the encounter took a turn when Harry claims William “pointed a finger at Meg”, then allegedly blasted: “Well, it’s rude, Meghan. These things are not done here.” To which Meghan responded: “If you don’t mind, keep your finger out of my face.”
Harry’s observation in Spare comes after Meghan also took aim at Kate during her and Harry’s Netflix docuseries. As she recalled their first meeting she said she was “surprised” by the behind-the-scenes formality of members of the Royal Family. Speaking in episode two of the six-part Harry & Meghan docuseries, 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.”
Since the release of the memoir and Netflix series, the gulf between Harry and his family is wider than ever. It’s thought that he has now not seen his father King Charles in person for 14 months – despite the fact they were mere miles apart just last weekend.
Harry, 40, arrived in London last Sunday, while Charles, 76, was in the capital for rescheduled cancer treatment ahead of his official trip to Italy – but they did not see each other.
