Princess Kate Middleton has an apparent visceral reaction to hearing Meghan Markle’s name.
Kate, 41, has “jokingly shivered” upon hearing Meghan’s name, author Omid Scobie reveals in his upcoming book Endgame. The royal expert also notes that Kate and Meghan, 42, have had “almost zero direct communication” since 2019. However, they’ve shared “short pleasantries” over the years.
According to the book, there’s no reconciliation on the horizon when it comes to things between Kate and Meghan. The Princess of Wales also has no desire to mend her relationship with Prince Harry either.
While it appeared that Kate and Meghan formed a fast friendship when meeting in 2017, rumors of a rift between the two women started to swirl the following year.
It was widely reported that ahead of Meghan’s 2018 wedding to Harry, 39, a dress fitting for Kate and Prince William’s daughter, Charlotte, went awry. Per widespread rumors, Kate left the fitting in tears. However, Meghan revealed during a 2021 tell-all interview that “the reverse happened.”
Meghan called the moment “a turning point” for her with the royal family.
“A few days before the wedding she was upset about flower girl dresses and it made me cry. It really hurt my feelings,” Meghan claimed at the time. “She was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologized. And she brought me flowers and a note, apologizing. And she did what I would do if I knew that I hurt someone, right, to just take accountability for it.”
Meghan said the hardest part was getting over something she was being blamed for.
“Everyone in the institution knew it wasn’t true,” Meghan said. “I’m not sharing that piece about Kate in any way to be disparaging to her. I think it’s really important for people to understand the truth.”
Per Scobie’s book, Kate “watched in silence” as the narrative played out in the public eye. While Kate did offer an apology, “the damage from the public rift was already done.”
After Meghan and Harry announced their plans to step back from the royal family in January 2020, there was no hope for a relationship between the two women. Meghan and Kate had “not spoken since” the drama started, a source told Us Weekly at the time.
Harry and Meghan made their royal family departure permanent in February 2021.
In the years that followed, the couple has shared more insight into the issues between Meghan with Kate. Harry, for his part, shared his side of the past wedding drama with his Spare memoir, released earlier this year.
“[Kate] had other problems with the way Meg was planning her wedding,” recalling the dress incident in the book. “It was intolerable — but temporary.”
When Meghan skipped out on King Charles III coronation in May, a separate source told Us Kate had “no desire” to communicate with Meghan or Harry. “There has been too much that has happened and she’s not ready yet,” the insider added.
