The real reason Kate and Meghan are kept apart
While rumours of a rift continue to swirl, royal expert Duncan Larcombe reveals what’s really going on between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton
❛ IF MEGHAN WANTED TO HAVE KATE’S GUIDANCE, SHE SHOULD HAVE REACHED OUT ❜
Reports of a feud between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton show no sign of stopping, with the increasing distance between the royals becoming even more apparent last week when they attended polar opposite public events.
While Kate, 37, and Prince William, 36, visited squats and slums in one of the poorest areas of Blackpool and spoke with locals, Meghan, also 37, joined Harry at a star-studded charity event at Wembley arena.
DIFFERENT
Their attendance at such different events sparked a backlash from fans – one wrote, “Will and Kate are the true humanitarians of the younger generation. Meghan and Harry are all about the glitz and glam.” Another posted, “William and Kate doing a better job than the other useless two.”
The outings followed a joint appearance by both women and their husbands at Prince Charles’ 50th anniversary party at Buckingham Palace. But the couples were kept suspiciously separate throughout the event, walking behind each other and barely interacting. Body language experts pitched in, insisting there was a “distance” between the usually tight-knit group, with former actress Meghan, who is due to give birth at the end of April, looking “isolated”.
Royal insiders have previously said the pair were just “different people”. Royal expert Duncan Larcombe tells Closer that he believes they “just don’t get on”. Duncan says, “While Meghan and Kate are very different, they are the only people in the world in their situation as outsiders coming into the royal family. You’d think they’d want to lean on each other. If Meghan wanted Kate’s guidance and counsel, she should have been the one to reach out. But that doesn’t seem to have happened and they are very separate. They must simply not get on.”
‘STRESSFUL’
Rumours of a rift began when it emerged Harry and Meghan would move out of their Kensington Palace home, where Kate and William also live, as well as reports that Meghan had left Kate in tears during a “stressful” bridesmaid dress fitting for her daughter Charlotte, three.
And earlier this month, Harry hired a new press secretary for himself and Meghan, rather than the former set-up of one adviser for the two couples.
Duncan adds, “I suspect Meghan would love to quash the rumours by putting on a front, but that isn’t how Kate works. She and Will keep to themselves, whereas Harry and Meghan – as we’ve seen with her friends’ interviews and their public statements – want to have a say about the public perception of them.
“The Palace wouldn’t try to make it seem that Meghan and Kate are close as they might fear it would look too staged.”
Last week, it emerged that up to 70% of negative comments on Twitter about Meghan had come from just 20 accounts, which had been set up to troll the Duchess. The Palace announced they’d be blocking trolls on social media. Meanwhile, Harry was criticised for chartering a £6k helicopter to fly to Birmingham – emitting up to five times more emissions than if he took a flight – to discuss climate change and environmental issues. One social media user posted, “Does he not realise how hypocritical that is?”