A royal roller-coaster. Princess Kate had a difficult time reuniting with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle following the death of Queen Elizabeth II, a new book claims.
Kate, 41, and Prince William were joined by Harry, 38, and the Suits alum, 41, for a walkabout at Windsor Castle in September 2022 to greet mourners who gathered to pay their respects to the late monarch. At the time, a source exclusively told Us Weekly that William, 40, extended the invitation to his brother and sister-in-law.
The outing marked one of the first times the “Fab Four” appeared together in the wake of Harry and Meghan’s 2020 exit from their senior royal roles. According to royal correspondent Robert Jobson, the couples only gave the “illusion” of putting on a united front.
In his upcoming book, Our King, Jobson alleges that Kate felt uncomfortable before stepping out for the cameras. “Catherine later admitted to a senior royal that, such was the ill feeling between the two couples, the joint walkabout was one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do,” he writes, per excerpts published by the Daily Mail. (Us has reached out to Buckingham Palace for comment on Jobson’s book.)
Tensions have been high between Harry, Meghan and the extended royal family since the Sussexes moved to California with son Archie, 3, and daughter Lilibet, 22 months, following their final engagement as senior royals in March 2020: the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. The Archewell cofounders reflected on the London event during their Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.
“We were nervous seeing the family because [of] all the TV cameras and everybody watching at home and everybody watching in the audience,” Harry recalled in the six-part series, which debuted in December 2022. “It’s like living through a soap opera, where everybody else views you as entertainment.”
The Duke of Sussex confessed that he “felt really distant” from his relatives at the service. “Which was interesting, because so much of how they operate is about what it looks like, rather than what it feels like. And it looked cold. But it also felt cold,” he explained.
The twosome were across the pond when Elizabeth died at age 96 and stayed to attend several events as part of the U.K.’s mourning period. When the queen was laid to rest during her state funeral at Westminster Abbey in September 2022, Harry and his wife sat in the second row of pews behind King Charles III, Queen Consort Camilla, William and Kate. Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward were also seated in the first row.
Since leaving the palace behind, Harry has been candid about where he and Meghan stand with the rest of the British royals — and where they hope their relationships will go in the future. A spokesperson for the couple confirmed to Us in March that they received an invitation from Charles, 74, to attend his coronation — but their response has yet to be publicly announced.
Royal expert Alexander Larman weighed in on the family drama during exclusive interview with Us last month, arguing that Harry and Meghan should accept the invite. “If he [doesn’t] go to the coronation, he’s essentially saying, ‘I am not gonna have any relationship with my family ever again,'” the Windsors at War author claimed, adding that he would be “amazed” if the Spare author skips the event.
Jobson’s book Our King hits shelves on April 13.
