Furious Kate: ‘Stop trying to make me look bad'
Meghan’s Vogue cover has ruffled her sis-in-law’s feathers
When Meghan Markle came up with the concept of putting “diverse women of all walks of life” who she admires on the cover of British Vogue, she surely did it with good intentions. The “Forces For Change” issue, guest-edited by the Duchess, features 15 inspirational ladies and a 16th panel of a mirror, “So you can see yourself as part of this collective”.
It seems like a nice thing to do, but, of course, Meghan, 37, has faced a public backlash. First up, she was ticked off for not including her granny-in-law, the Queen. Then the authors of an Australian book with a similar theme called The Game Changers – for which Meghan wrote an essay in 2015 – suggested she may have stolen its concept. And on top of the public backlash, the Duchess is also said
to be facing the wrath of her sister-in-law, Kate Middleton. Kate featured on the cover of the fashion bible in 2016, so when editor Edward Enninful revealed how the Duchess of Sussex thought it’d be “boastful” to appear on the cover herself, Kate took it as a personal dig. One online commentator said, “Meghan really does not prepare well – how many times was Princess Diana on the cover? Five or six?”, and insiders say this echoes the sentiments of Kate and her husband, Prince William. “Meghan has ruffled feathers within the royal family, as the issue seems to be a political statement – which goes against protocol – but Kate is taking offence in a different way,” an insider tells heat. “She can’t help but feel Meghan is constantly trying to outdo her, and be seen as a cut above the rest of the royals.
“Kate happily posed for British Vogue herself, and expected Meghan to do the same. But as she chose to do something so drastically different and go against the grain, Kate feels as though Meghan’s tried to make it look rather shallow of Kate not to have done something more ground-breaking.”
In the issue, Meghan landed a number of high-profile interviews, including one with Michelle Obama and another between Prince Harry and conservationist Jane Goodall. In the interview, Harry seemed to indirectly speak about the treatment of his wife by arguing that stigma and hatred is “taught” and “handed down from generation to generation”. He asked that people be more aware of their “unconscious bias”.
And it seems Meghan is decidedly conscious about the messages she wants to share with the world. Our insider says, “Meghan doesn’t want to follow in Kate’s footsteps, which has made Kate angry, because she’s spent so much time trying to give Meghan advice, which she ignores.” Kate has already apparently played mediator when it comes to tensions between the two princes over their wives. She recently invited Meghan to join her and her sister Pippa at Wimbledon in an attempt to put on a united front. Now, we’re told she feels her efforts have been thrown back in her face. “Kate has always tried to back Meghan and has tempered relations between William and Harry many times, but now she’s wondering why she bothered,” says the source. “Kate feels hurt, considering all the support she’s given her.”
It looks like it’s goodbye to the Fab Four – again. ■
‘Kate has always tried to back Meghan up’