Royal wedding wars: Pippa vs Meghan!
Kate caught in the crossfire. Plus, Zara’s little secret
Pippa Middleton became the world’s most famous bridesmaid after wowing us all in a figure-hugging frock at her sister’s royal wedding back in 2011. But as her own big day approaches, the bride-to-be is fuming over fears that Prince Harry’s glamorous girlfriend Meghan Markle will steal her limelight when she marries hedge fund billionaire James Matthews in May.
And Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, has been caught in the middle of this escalating wedding war!
“Kate says she’s stuck in an impossible situation,” reveals our Woman’sDay insider. “She has Pippa on one side and Meghan on the other, both of whom adore the attention and love being the ‘it girl’. Kate can’t see a way through this.”
Pippa, 33, is causing trouble after learning that Harry wants to take sexy Suits star Meghan, 35, to her lavish wedding, which is reportedly happening on May 20 at the Bucklebury home of her parents, Michael and Carol Middleton.
Loved-up Harry and Meghan, whose surprise romance emerged late last year, attended a friend’s nuptials in Jamaica earlier this month, sending waiting photographers into a frenzy. Now Pippa is terrified that the same thing will happen on her big day, which is anticipated to be the biggest
society wedding of 2017.
“Pippa is already sore that her wedding build-up has been overshadowed by Harry’s romance and now the fact that he might bring Meghan along as his date has left her totally floored. She’s happy for Harry that he’s finally found love, but she hates the thought that photographers will be more interested in them than her on the biggest day of her life.”
The source adds, “Pippa adores the limelight. She basked in the fact she became known as the world’s hottest woman after being bridesmaid for Kate and William, and she’d been hoping and expecting
that people would be equally wowed by her as a bride. But Meghan has come on the scene and totally stolen her thunder. She can't believe the timing.”
While British wedding etiquette suggests that a plus-one should always be included on a wedding invitation, our insider reveals that an increasingly tense Pippa has turned to 35-yearold Kate for help, begging her to tell Harry he should attend alone.
Greenwithenvy
“Kate and Meghan have become close, and Pippa is jealous about it,” says our source. “Kate feels for Pippa, but she just isn't prepared to intervene like that. She has gently suggested that she and Harry should sit down and come up with a plan to ensure that all eyes are on Pippa, not Meghan.”
Indeed, Kate has suggested that Pippa organise a special side entry for Harry and Meghan so that attention isn't diverted. But the bride-to-be is now also consumed with worry that Harry is going to propose before her big day, leaving her nose even more out of joint.
Our source explains, “Pippa's career was launched by Kate's wedding and she truly thought it would be propelled again with her own, but she says a royal engagement will make her and James' big day totally insignificant in comparison.
“Kate really feels like she's in the middle of everything and while she's begged Pippa not to shut out Meghan, she knows that there's only so much power and persuasion she can wield. Pippa is so infuriated at how Meghan's become the new golden girl and how close she's grown to her sister that she can't even think straight.”
Meanwhile, our source says that even if Pippa asked, it is unlikely that Meghan would agree to step back from the limelight. “Meghan absolutely loves her new level of fame and is basking in it. She's been calling in favours from designers who are falling over themselves to dress her and she still has to pinch herself that she's dating a real-life prince. She's in heaven.”
And Woman'sDay can reveal that there's another wedding guest causing Pippa stress – Princess Eugenie, 26, who has been sparking rumours she and her beau, Jack Brooksbank, 29, are set to announce their engagement.
Says the source, “Pippa just wants some space to shine. She is happy to include all these high-profile people in her life but she struggles to accept that all eyes might not be on her, on what should be the best day of her life. She says it's threatening to ruin her wedding.”