With the release of Prince Harry’s memoir Spare, several members of the Royal Family – and even a former butler – faced their share of criticism.
Harry didn’t hold back in revealing new details about what life was like within the royal fold. Additionally, the prince addressed Meghan Markle’s relationship with Kate Middleton, highlighting a period when the two women reportedly harbored significant animosity toward one another.
It had previously been claimed that Meghan caused Kate to cry on her wedding day due to a disagreement over the flower girls’ dresses. However, Meghan later disputed those reports, suggesting that it was actually Kate who had made her cry.
It’s clear that Meghan and Kate were far from being close friends. In Spare, Harry recounted another incident where Kate reportedly lashed out at Meghan.
According to Harry, when Princess Charlotte, who was set to be a flower girl at Meghan’s wedding, tried on her dress without it being properly fitted, she ended up in tears. A frustrated Kate is said to have confronted Meghan about the matter, ultimately leading Harry to find Meghan “sobbing on the floor.”
Although they weren’t initially enemies, Meghan and Kate didn’t immediately become best friends. People did hope that the two would ultimately click and establish their rhythm, but there always seemed to be a discrepancy between them.
Meghan hasn’t been particularly vocal about her friendship with Kate. Naturally, things have been rather explosive on the occasions that she has revealed information.
Meghan & Kate’s relationship
In their Netflix documentary released in December, Meghan shared that her first meeting with Kate didn’t go as smoothly as she might have hoped.
“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,” Meghan recalled.
“I was a hugger. I’ve always been a hugger, I didn’t realize that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.”
She went on to explain: “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.”
After their royal wedding, Harry and Meghan briefly resided at Kensington Palace, where Prince William and Kate Middleton were also living at the time. However, although this was expected to be a joyful time for the two couples, tensions soon arose, leading to a swift departure for Harry and Meghan as they moved to their own residence.
Not far from William and Kate, Harry and Meghan relocated to Nottingham Cottage. At that moment, the two spouses’ relationship worsened. Tom Quinn says this occurred for a number of reasons.
Meghan didn’t want Kate to take the first picture of Archie
Meghan reportedly struggled with the reality that Kensington Palace was exclusively designated for William and Kate. At the same time, a senior royal aide allegedly told her she’d never be “in the first division.”
“It was being pointed out to them in no uncertain terms that they weren’t in the first division because that place is held by William and Kate. Inevitably that led to friction,” Quinn claimed.
“In Meghan’s world, if you’re determined enough, you can get to the top. But Meghan can’t, she can’t get to the top whatever she does.”
The official end of Harry and Meghan’s royal duties came on March 31, 2020. By that time, the couple had already welcomed their first child, Archie. Their family later grew to include a daughter, Lilibet.
According to royal expert Neil Sean, Kate once offered to take the first newborn photos of Archie. However, Meghan reportedly declined, opting instead to “hire a photographer” for the task.
“This was a very special gesture from the now-Princess of Wales to Meghan Markle when she had her first child, Archie,” Sean said in a YouTube video, as reported by Express. He further explained that Kate had offered to “take the personal picture of baby Archie” after receiving praise for her photography skills from professional photographers.
Meghan has a tense connection with a number of Royal Family members these days. As previously mentioned, the former actress had a difficult relationship with Kate Middleton in particular from the start, and vice versa.
‘Kate didn’t make an effort to welcome Meghan in royal family’
Authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand suggest in their book Finding Freedom that the two women weren’t necessarily feuding from the beginning. Instead, it appears the two royals simply didn’t know each other well.
“Meghan would agree with the assessment that the duchesses were not the best of friends,” they wrote. “Their relationship hadn’t progressed much since [Markle] was Harry’s girlfriend.”
Additionally, the authors note that Kate didn’t put much effort into making Meghan feel welcome in the family, at least not to the extent that might have been expected.
Meghan reportedly hoped Kate would mentor her and help her navigate the complexities of joining “the Firm” as an outsider. However, according to the authors, that support never materialized.
“Meghan was disappointed that she and Kate hadn’t bonded over the position they shared, but she wasn’t losing sleep over it,” Scobie and Durand wrote in Finding Freedom, also noting, “Meghan would far rather have had Kate check in on her during the most difficult times with the press.”
Things then became more heated in the lead-up to Harry and Meghan’s wedding.
Kate made her cry on wedding day, Meghan claimed
Meghan Markle, in her interview with Oprah, shared that Kate Middleton made her cry over the flower-girl dresses during her wedding preparations. This statement directly contradicted earlier claims reported by the tabloids.
“It really hurt my feelings. It was a really hard week of the wedding. And she was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologized. And she brought me flowers and a note, apologizing,” Meghan explained.
Addressing the media narrative, she added, “I think so much of what I have seen play out [in the media] is this idea of polarity, where if you love me, you don’t have to hate her. And if you love her, you don’t need to hate me.”
By that time, the relationship between Meghan and Kate had become strained. Both were present at Queen Elizabeth’s funeral last fall, marking their first encounter in quite a while. Reports from the event claimed that Meghan and Kate did not speak to one another.
In his memoir, Spare, Prince Harry disclosed further details about the 2018 incident involving Kate and Meghan, sharing a series of private text messages exchanged during the days leading up to his wedding with Meghan.
They focused on Princess Charlotte, Kate’s daughter and Meghan’s niece, who was to serve as a flower girl at the wedding at St George’s Chapel on the Windsor grounds in a particular gown.
Harry reveals Kate’s angry text to Meghan in his book.
The flower girls’ dresses were described as “French couture,” but none of them had been fitted before being made. As a result, Harry noted that adjustments were anticipated.
For Meghan, it was an incredibly stressful period. She was not only focused on the wedding but also dealing with her father, Thomas Markle, who had staged fake photos for the paparazzi.
In his book, Harry recounted finding Meghan “sobbing on the floor” after a text exchange with Kate. He shared that Kate sent Meghan a message stating: “Charlotte’s dress is too big, too long, too baggy. She cried when she tried it on at home.”
Initially, Harry claimed that Kate was reluctant to visit Meghan’s tailor at Kensington Palace to address the issue. However, the bridesmaids’ dresses ultimately required alterations, and they all had to be remade.
Harry further alleged that Kate consulted with her “own wedding designer” regarding the problems with the dresses.
“Meg asked if Kate was aware of what was going on right now. With her father,” Harry said. “Kate said she was well aware, but the dresses. And the wedding is in four days!”
Harry found his wife “sobbing” on the floor
According to Harry, Meghan texted Kate saying, “I’m not sure what else to say. If the dress doesn’t fit then, please take Charlotte to see Ajay. He’s been waiting all day.” Kate responded with a brief: “Fine.”
Harry recounted: “A short time later I arrived home and found Meg on the floor. Sobbing,” describing how he was “horrified” to see her in such a state. He continued, “It was intolerable but temporary. Kate hadn’t meant any harm, I told her.”
In his memoir Spare, Harry also wrote that Kate had “problems with the way Meg was planning her wedding. Something about a party for the page boys? It went back and forth.”
So far, the British royal family has chosen not to address any of the claims made in the book. Meanwhile, Harry has found cause for celebration as Spare achieved massive success within just one day of its release.
According to his publisher, Penguin Random House, Spare is poised to become the fastest-selling non-fiction book ever, as reported by Express. On its first day, the book sold 400,000 copies in print, e-book, and audio versions.
According to the publisher, “Spare” sold 1.4 million copies on its first day.
“We always knew this book would fly, but it is exceeding even our most bullish expectations,” stated Larry Finlay, managing director of Transworld Penguin Random House.
“As far as we know, the only books to have sold more in their first day are those starring the other Harry (Potter).”
Harry’s memoir has quickly become the top-selling publication on the UK Amazon website and is predicted to dominate as the biggest seller of 2023.
On Thursday, Penguin Random House shared additional statistics, revealing that Spare sold 1.4 million copies across the UK, United States, and Canada on its first day. The memoir has been released in a total of 16 languages worldwide.
Although parts of the book were leaked extensively before its launch, its content continues to dominate airtime as well as coverage in newspapers and online platforms.
“Vulnerable and heartfelt, brave and intimate, Spare is the story of someone we may have thought we already knew, but now we can truly come to understand Prince Harry through his own words,” said Gina Centrello, President and Publisher of the Random House Group.
“Looking at these extraordinary first day sales, readers clearly agree, Spare is a book that demands to be read, and it is a book we are proud to publish,” she added.
According to a survey, Harry is no longer as popular in Britain.
Not everyone is thrilled about Harry’s book, despite the fact that it has been eagerly awaited. According to The Express, over 4.1 million people watched the Prince’s Sunday interview with ITV. Around 5.3 million people watched the drama Happy Valley, which was shown by the BBC at the same time.
Regarding the public’s perception of Harry, the unfavorable trend also applies to him. Just 24% of people in the UK still think well of him, according to a recent YouGov poll that was reported in The Times. With 68 percent being critical, that percentage is lower than the 80 percent it was ten years ago.
The survey found that Harry and Meghan had significantly worse popularity ratings than Prince Andrew among people over 65.
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