Kate Middleton was just one of many royal family members who received criticism in Prince Harry’s book Spare. The Princess of Wales came under fire for how she reportedly treated Meghan Markle, especially before the former actress’ wedding, during which Harry claims she made his then-future-wife cry.
Now, as Kate Middleton, as well as King Charles, is undergoing treatment for cancer, the relationship between them and Harry and Meghan could be changing for the better. However, as it has been at the bottom for years, the question is what making amends would look like, especially as Prince William reportedly has no interest in it.
Some argue that Prince Harry threw Kate under the bus with what he wrote about her in Spare. And as she is going through this very challenging time, one expert now claims he might be coming to regret his decision.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the royal family years ago. However, even though they will always be associated with The Firm, they didn’t do anything to keep them far away.
In March 2021, the Sussexes sat down for a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey. In it, they laid out several accusations against royal family members and revealed new details about their lives with The Firm, which weren’t the prettiest.
Harry & Meghan – attacks on royal family
Few would have predicted it on their wedding day, but Harry and Meghan began verbally attacking the royals in the year following their exit.
In her now infamous Oprah Winfrey interview, Meghan claimed she had been poorly treated, even stating that The Firm, as they call themselves, didn’t help her when she was experiencing mental health problems.
Meanwhile, the Duchess revealed several shocking things in the interview with Oprah, for example, how an unnamed royal commented about Archie’s skin color.
“In those months when I was pregnant, all around this same time. So we have in tandem the conversation of ‘he won’t be given security, he’s not going to be given a title’ and also concerns and conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born,” Meghan Markle recalled.
As she became a working royal, Meghan felt she had to endure constant criticism and sexism, as well as racist remarks from the media. Her mental health deteriorated, but, as mentioned, she felt she didn’t get any support from the royal family members.
It went so far that Meghan became suicidal.
“I just didn’t see a solution. I would sit up at night, and I was just, like, I don’t understand how all of this is being churned out. And, again, I wasn’t seeing it, but it’s almost worse when you feel it through the expression of my mom or my friends, or them calling me crying, just, like, ‘Meg, they’re not protecting you’. And I realized that it was all happening just because I was breathing,” she explained.
Kate MIddleton played a ‘crucial role’ in response to Harry & Meghan, expert says
The accusations towards the royal family about how there “were concerns and conversations about how dark” Archie’s “skin might be when he’s born” was something the Palace couldn’t ignore.
Shortly after, the Palace released a 61-word statement in response.
“The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan,” the statement, released by Buckingham Palace on behalf of Queen Elizabeth, read.
“The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately. Harry, Meghan, and Archie will always be much-loved family members,” the statement continued.
Although not much was known about Kate Middleton’s relationship with either Harry or Meghan at that point, later, it would become apparent that she and the Duchess weren’t exactly the best of friends.
While the Palace felt the need to release the statement about potential racism, one royal expert claimed that Kate Middleton played a crucial role in using the words “some recollections may vary” in it.
In her book Courtiers: The Hidden Power Behind the Crown, Valentine Low quotes a source, claiming that the first version of the statement had “a much milder version” of the “recollections” sentence.
“The debate was, do you rise entirely above it and offer the olive branch of [Harry and Meghan being] ‘much-loved members of the family’? Or is there some moment when you have to intervene and offer a view?” the source told Low, adding that Kate and Prince William wanted it “toughened up.”
“They were both of one mind that we needed something that said that the institution did not accept a lot of what had been said,” the source explained.
“One of the hardest things she’d ever had to do”
Prince Harry has only met Kate Middleton a few times since leaving the royal family with Meghan. The two attended Prince Philip’s funeral together, and the same went for Queen Elizabeth’s funeral. For the late monarch’s funeral, Meghan Markle was also in attendance; however, it’s now known whether they spoke.
Shortly after Queen Elizabeth’s death, Harry, Meghan, William, and Kate joined forces during a public outing at Windsor to greet well-wishers and mourners. It was supposed to be seen as a united royal front despite their different opinions of one another. For Kate, though, the walk was challenging as author Robert Jobson revealed that the Princess of Wales didn’t enjoy it at all.
The fact that it was to be seen as a feeling of “it’s getting better between us” was, according to Jobson, just an “illusion.”
“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,” Jobson wrote.
Kate Middleton wasn’t all spared from attacks in the Oprah interview with the Sussexes.
Meghan claimed that Kate Middleton had made her cry over the flower girl dresses on her wedding day. However, that directly contradicts earlier claims made by the British 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 said.
“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,” she added.
Harry revealed personal texts between Kate & Meghan in ‘Spare’
Later, in Harry’s book Spare, released in early 2023, the Duke revealed personal text messages exchanged between Meghan and Kate after the disagreement over Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress.
Princess Charlotte was to wear a specific gown as a flower girl at the wedding, which was held at St George’s Chapel on the Windsor grounds.
All the flower girls’ gowns were “French couture,” but none had been fitted before they were crafted. Therefore, Harry wrote that some adjustments were expected.
In his book, Harry wrote that he found his then-bride-to-be “sobbing on the floor” following a text exchange with Kate. Harry claimed that Kate texted Meghan, “Charlotte’s dress is too big, too long, too baggy. She cried when she tried it on at home.”
At first, Harry claimed that Kate didn’t want to meet Meghan’s tailor at Kensington Palace to have the dress fixed. Ultimately, all the bridesmaids’ gowns had to be remade.
Even so, Harry added that “Kate hadn’t meant any harm” with the texts and said that Kate arrived at their home the following day with flowers and a card to apologize.
However, this was only one thing about Kate he mentioned in Spare. In another part of the book, Harry claims that Kate once “grimaced” after Meghan asked to use her lipgloss. When she put some lipgloss onto her fingers to use on her lips, the Princess of Wales visibly shuddered.
Kate MIddleton – cancer announcement
Moreover, Prince Harry wrote that Kate and Meghan struggled to bond over stereotyping, which he said caused “a bit of a barrier.”
Today., Harry and Meghan live an entirely different life than the royal one that once was their everyday life. Sunny California has given them plenty of space for royal life. However, they have repeatedly spoken about their previous career as senior working royals and enjoying huge contracts with both Netflix and Spotify for millions of dollars.
Later, their Spotify contract was canceled, and a senior boss at Spotify claimed they hadn’t done enough to deserve it.
Some months ago, everything changed. First, Kate Middleton underwent abdominal surgery, and soon after, King Charles’s cancer diagnosis was announced. In mid-March, the Princess of Wales also revealed she had been given a cancer diagnosis and is in the “early stages” of treatment.
“As you can imagine, this has taken time. It has taken me time to recover from major surgery in order to start my treatment. But, most importantly, it has taken us time to explain everything to George, Charlotte and Louis in a way that is appropriate for them, and to reassure them that I am going to be ok,” Kate Middleton said in the video.
She then assured the public that she was “well” and “getting stronger every day.”
According to the Mirror, Harry and Meghan Markle sent their best wishes to Kate Middleton after she had been hospitalized.
A source told the Mirror that the “King and the Princess of Wales have received support from Prince Harry and Meghan regarding their health. “The Duke and Duchess contacted both parties in different ways to pass on their concerns and best wishes.
Harry in ‘painful place’ after writing about Kate Middleton in ‘Spare,’ expert says
Harry and Meghan were said to have received the news of Kate Middleton’s cancer diagnosis through the news and later also contacted her to show their support.
Meanwhile, a royal expert claims that Harry most likely regrets the things he has written about it as the Princess of Wales is going through this most challenging time.
Speaking with Us Weekly while promoting her book Elizabeth & Philip: A Story of Young Love, Marriage and Monarch, royal expert Tessa Dunlop claims Harry now finds himself in a “painful place.”
“When you do discover that your sister-in-law has cancer and you’ve written stuff that can’t be retracted, that’s quite a painful place to be in,” Dunlop said.
The royal expert added, “They deliberately criticize the monarchy [and then offer] themselves as an alternative to monarchy. So then when the monarchy is in trouble, we do kind of make a comparison. Can Harry and Meghan really hold themselves off as the caring example now? They’re certainly going to have to be careful of their timing with any releases so that it doesn’t look opportunistic.”
