SHOWDOWN AT CHRISTMAS

Dueling duchesses! All hell breaks loose at Sandringham as Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton clash during the royal family’s holiday celebration

Keep calm and carry on? That’s not Duchess Meghan’s style. In the weeks leading up to Christmas, Prince Harry’s brazen new bride was confident that Queen Elizabeth II, her grandmother-in-law, would break protocol and ask Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, to spend Christmas with the royal family at Sandringham. Because of the close bond she developed with the head of the House of Windsor over the last several months, “Meghan really thought the queen would make an exception” and host Doria at the sprawling country estate in Norfolk for the royals-only event, according to an insider. But, as In Touch previously reported, no embossed invitation — nor a verbal one — ever came, crushing the pregnant duchess’ spirits. “Meghan,” says the insider, “was heartbroken that Doria wasn’t invited.” And she let everyone know how miserable she was. The former Suits star, 37, made the Christmas holiday a nightmare for her husband’s family, including Prince William, 36, and his wife, Kate, also 36, Meghan’s archrival, says the insider. She drove Harry, 34, nuts while obsessing about what to wear, refused to participate in traditional activities such as the annual Boxing

Day pheasant shoot and, most horrific of all, picked a fight with her sister-in-law. “Meghan left Kate in tears,” reveals the insider, who says the 92-year-old queen was deeply displeased with the ex-actress’ behavior. Even the normally laid-back William had enough. “He pulled his younger brother aside,” says the insider, “and told him his wife is out of control!”

DIVA ANTICS Meghan’s bad behavior began shortly after everyone arrived on Christmas Eve. As is the custom, the members of the royal family always exchange presents on Dec. 24, and this year was no exception. Because Her Royal Highness frowns on extravagant shows of wealth, the family members usually give each other gag gifts (Harry gave follically challenged William a wig one year), but no one was laughing at Meghan’s choice. “It was something that left everyone speechless,” says the insider.

Things went downhill from there. On Christmas Day, the royal family walks from the queen’s residence at Sandringham to St. Mary Magdelene, a nearby church where they all attend Mass. Thousands of local well-wishers line the street to watch them, and several photographers snap their photos. “Meghan started to freak out about what to wear,” says the insider. (Indeed, one too-short hemline or off-the-shoulder top could launch a thousand headlines about her faux pas.) And though Harry tried to calm her by “telling her over and over again how the queen and his father, Prince Charles, and stepmom, Camilla, like her, nothing seemed to calm her down. Meghan was convinced everyone was waiting for her to slip up.”

She did indeed slip up — and spectacularly at that. Both Meghan and Kate had been dreading sharing a meal together, and yet they couldn’t avoid it at the queen’s black-tie Christmas lunch. The two women have been at odds ever since Harry and Meghan got en-

I don’t know if Meghan and Kate will ever be friends” — AN INSIDER

gaged in 2017. Sources say Kate resented the special treatment the queen showed Meghan. (Kate has a point: As Harry’s fiancée, Meghan spent Christmas with the royals last year; Kate only attended after she wed William in 2011.) Meghan, in turn, “can’t help but be jealous” that Kate will one day become queen.

The tension finally came to a head at the holiday meal. While the family dined on turkey and all the trimmings, Meghan “seemed convinced that Kate was trying to stir up trouble and throw shade at her,” says the insider. “So Meghan made a comment that upset Kate — and she stormed off.” (Meghan may have sensed trouble was coming: Days before at an event, she wore a gold ring from Turkish brand Kismet by Milka that features a hamsa. The eye in the palm of the hamsa hand is said to provide a veil of protection from the evil eye.)

This wouldn’t be the first time Kate, mom to George, 5, Charlotte, 3, and 8-month-old Louis, bolted when Meghan pushed her too far. Kate reportedly cried over something to do with Charlotte’s dress fitting before Meghan and Harry’s wedding. Things will probably get worse before they get better: Says the insider, “It’s unlikely Meghan will apologize to Kate.”

OH, BROTHER! Caught in the middle is poor Harry. Not only did he receive a lecture from his brother about Meghan — “William thinks Harry needs to stand up for himself instead of allowing Meghan to wear the pants,” says the insider — but he’s walking on eggshells when it comes to an increasingly annoyed queen.

After all, the former wild child, who caused international scandals by wearing a Nazi costume in 2005 and getting photographed playing strip billiards in Las Vegas in 2012, has only recently calmed down. “Harry gets nervous when he’s around the queen and is still haunted by the memories of her fury when the photos from his Las Vegas trip were leaked,” says the insider.

Now he’s stuck explaining away Meghan’s behavior instead of his own. The day after the Christmas dinner fiasco, Meghan, an animal lover, begged off the family’s Boxing Day hunt, citing her deeply held beliefs about cruelty against animals. (She also skipped last year’s and got Harry to miss it, too.) “The royal family sees this as a huge snub. All in all,” says the insider, “the holiday was a disaster.”