Inside KATE MIDDLETON’S growing bond with QUEEN ELIZABETH II.
Kate Middleton gets closer than ever to her grandmother-in-law — and it has Meghan Markle worried
It was a long time coming — eight years, to be exact. But as Kate Middleton arrived with Queen Elizabeth II at King’s College in London for their first- ever solo outing together on March 19, the royal duo looked so relaxed and happy, it seemed like a natural pairing.
Now fans can expect to see a whole lot more of Kate and the queen side by side. With sister-in-law Meghan
Markle out of the public eye as she nears her due date, Prince William’s wife, 37, is fast becoming the 92-year-old monarch’s goto duchess. “The queen is taking Kate under her wing and making a huge effort to spend more time with her,” reveals an insider. “Kate may not be as outgoing as Meghan — after all, [Meghan] was an actress used to working crowds — but the queen finds her charming and a pleasure to be around these days.”
PRIVATE GET-TOGETHERS
So much so that Kate and Queen Elizabeth have been “meeting up regularly for lunch,” says the insider, with Kate often bringing along her 11-month- old son, Louis, whom she knows the matriarch adores. “Elizabeth dotes on the baby,” the insider reveals of their Buckingham Palace get-togethers. “She and Kate will spend hours catching up. They’ve really formed a strong friendship.”
It’s a bit of a turnaround for Kate, who’s been stuck in the background since Prince Harry, 34, married Meghan, 37. Just one month after their May 2018 wedding, the queen took newlywed Meghan to Cheshire in northwest England, where the two put on a chummy display at several high-profile events as the only representatives of the royal family. “Kate’s solo outing wasn’t as glamorous as Meghan’s luxury train ride to Cheshire, but she didn’t care,” the insider says. “She jumped at the opportunity to finally
get one-on-one time at an event with the queen.”
Meghan may be the one feeling left out now. “I wouldn’t say she is unhappy about the queen and Kate bonding,” notes the insider, “but Meghan is competitive and would hate to be replaced as the queen’s favorite duchess.”
She definitely has some new competition, though. While Meghan is constantly surrounded by drama of late, “Kate ticks all the right boxes as a royal,” insists the insider. “And the queen simply enjoys her company.”