Meghan Markle forced to apologise to Kate after Easter mix-up

31 January 2024 , 13:46

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Kate and Meghan have a strained relationship (Image: Getty Images)

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle may have been two outsiders brought into the British royal family through marriage, but that didn't mean they formed an instant bond.

In his tell-all memoir Spare, Prince Harry spoke about his strained relationship with his older brother Prince William and their father, King Charles. And he also opened up about the divide between the royal sister-in-laws.

He recalled a day back in June 2018 when he and Meghan invited Kate and William round for tea in Notts Cottage, in order to establish why Kate and Meghan had "got off on the wrong foot".

Harry wrote, "For 10 minutes we did the classic small talk. How are the kids? How was your honeymoon?

"Meg then acknowledged the tension among the four of us and ventured that it might go back to those early days when she'd first joined the family - a misunderstanding that had almost passed without notice. Kate thought Meg had wanted her fashion contacts. But Meg had her own," Harry added.

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He continued, "They'd got off on the wrong foot perhaps? And then, Meg added, everything got magnified by the wedding, and those infernal bridesmaids' dresses."

But it transpired that there was another issue bothering Prince William and Kate. According to Harry, a lack of Easter gifts that year had really struck a sour note with the couple.

"But it turned out there were other things... about which we'd been unaware. Willy and Kate were apparently upset that we hadn't given them Easter presents," the Duke continues.

"Easter presents? Was that a thing? Willy and I had never exchanged Easter presents. Pa always made a big deal about Easter, sure, but that was Pa. Still, if Willy and Kate were upset, we apologised.

"For our part, we chipped in that we weren't too pleased when Willy and Kate switched place cards and changed seats at our wedding. We'd followed the American tradition, placing couples next to each other, but Willy and Kate didn't like that tradition, so their table was the only one where spouses were apart."

Elsewhere in the book, Harry recalls a telling moment that he believes left a mark on Meghan and Kate's relationship - and it's surprisingly innocuous.

In one passage, he writes: "Meg asked to borrow Kate's lip gloss. An American thing. Meg forgot hers, worried she needed some, and turned to Kate for help.

"Kate, taken aback, went into her handbag and reluctantly pulled out a small tube. Meg squeezed some onto her finger and applied it to her lips. Kate grimaced. Small clash of styles, maybe? Something we should've been able to laugh about soon after. But it left a little mark."

Gemma Strong