THEY may live 4,000 miles away from one another, but Meghan Markle and Princess Kate’s “rivalry” is still strong, according to a royal expert.
Newsweek’s royal editor Jack Royston claims tensions were evident between the couple when they shared an office at Kensington Palace.
A royal expert has shared details on the ‘rivalry’ between Meghan Markle and Princess Kate[/caption]
The post came days after Princess Kate shared artwork created by George, 11, Charlotte, nine, and Louis, six[/caption]
Speaking on The Sun’s Royal Exclusive show, Jack shared: “There was 100 per cent definitely a massive rivalry between the Sussexes and the Waleses dating back to when they were sharing a private office at Kensington Palace.
“And this sort of thing, you would absolutely cut and dry say, was a 100 per cent massive rivalry.”
This comes as both Meghan and Kate have proudly shared photos of their kids artwork on social media in the same week.
On Monday, Kate shared an adorable set of portraits drawn by her and her three children online, saying “had lots of fun together.”
Meanwhile, on Thursday Meghan posted a photo of her moodboard, with a green star bearing son Archie‘s name taking centre stage.
Fans were quick to comment, with one person writing: “Don’t forget, the real reason she posted that was to show ‘Archie’s artwork’ since Catherine put out her kids’ artwork the other day.
“She’s so predictable..as ever, a copycat!”
Jack continued: “They would want to be competing and outdoing each other, so there probably is a bit of that.
“I mean, it’s hard to move past that.
“I’m sure that there is an instinct to want to outdo the other couple, whether it’s the Waleses or the Sussexes.”
Prince William and Prince Harry first established the Royal Foundation in 2009 before Kate joined two years later, followed by Meghan after marrying into the royal family.
However, the once-dubbed ‘Fab Four’ went their separate ways in 2019 – a year after the Sussexes’ royal wedding – to focus on their own separate charitable endeavours.
It came as both couples were plagued by rumours of a royal rift after Meghan and Harry moved away from Kate and Wills to Frogmore Cottage, Windsor.
There was 100 per cent definitely a massive rivalry between the Sussexes and the Waleses dating back to when they were sharing a private office at Kensington Palace
Jack Royston
According to a Royal insider: “Meghan seemed uncomfortable having to so publicly play ‘second fiddle’ to William and Kate as the superior royals in the palace hierarchy.”
They claim that Meghan could have found “it difficult that the Royal Foundation was already a well-oiled machine by the time she got there.”
Royal expert Jack claimed there is an ‘instinct to want to outdo the other couple’[/caption]
Social media ‘war’
The Sussexes explosively quit the Royal Family in 2020 and have since gone on to make a string of deals worth millions with Spotify and Netflix.
But there have frequently been claims of an “Insta war” between the couples, with many big social media posts clashing or overshadowing each other’s pages.
Some claimed that Harry and Meghan’s damaging ITV documentary in 2019 – where Meghan claimed she and Harry were “existing, not living” – was terrible timing for Kate and William who had just returned from a royal tour of Pakistan.
According to the Evening Standard, the decision to release teaser clips while Kate and Wills are on a four-day tour in Pakistan has “baffled and infuriated” aides.
Meghan and Kate both married into the royal family but have had tension over the years[/caption]
The last time the couples emerged as a four was following the Queen’s death in 2022[/caption]
Kate and Meg’s ‘rift’
In an explosive tell-all chat with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan later claimed it was Kate that made her cry just days before her wedding.
Previously, it was claimed Meghan left Kate in tears over her demands for Princess Charlotte’s dress.
The Duchess claimed the confrontation had “really hurt my feelings” and was a “turning point” in their relationship, adding: “I don’t think it’s fair to her to get into the details of that because she apologised, and I’ve forgiven her.”
Speaking to Oprah, Meghan said: “What was hard to get over was being blamed for something not only I did not do, but that happened to me.”
The last time Meghan visited the UK was for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II in September 2022.
A timeline of Prince Harry’s family feud
The first hints of friction reportedly came after William was introduced to Meghan when she was staying at Kensington Palace.
Once she’d returned home to Canada, William and Harry sat down for a brother-to-brother chat.
He knew Harry was already head-over-heels for her but it has been claimed he advised him to take it slowly.
The younger prince reportedly didn’t take too kindly to the advice, with one royal source saying he “went mental”.
Then in June 2019 Harry and Meghan officially split off from the charity they shared with William and Kate.
The Royal Foundation will be divided between the Sussexes and Cambridges as the couples focus on their own separate charitable endeavours.
Prince William and Prince Harry first established the Royal Foundation in 2009 before Kate joined two years later shortly after their engagement was announced.
The trio would often appear together at events and the Foundation had huge successes with projects like the Invictus Games for injured veterans and the mental health Heads Together campaign.
The Royal Foundation said the decision was made following the conclusion of a review into its structure – but added both couples will continue to work together in the future.
Harry and Meg were living in close proximity to Kate and Wills within the Kensington Palace estate, but they switched to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor before baby Archie was born.
The move further increased rumours of a fallout.
Harry also hinted in his ITV documentary “Harry and Meghan, An African Journey” that he and his brother had grown apart.
In 2021, Harry and Meghan give their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey where Harry accused his dad of cutting him off financially.
Harry then jetted back to UK to join William in unveiling a statue to their mother Princess Diana in the grounds of Kensington Palace. But sources claimed William didn’t want to attend the memorial amid their ongoing rift.
In 2022, just before their grandmother the Queen died, sources claimed Kate acts as a “peacemaker” between the brothers.
Harry claimed his brother “knocked him to the floor” during an argument about Meghan, in his memoir.
In Spare, Harry said William branded Meghan “rude” and “difficult” during a row.
Harry alleged William “grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and … knocked me to the floor”.
He said he was left with a visible injury to his back following the argument in 2019 at Nottingham Cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace, where he was living at the time.
In January this year, Harry flew in to be with Charles after the monarch’s shock cancer diagnosis.
Harry flew back to the US the following day – without seeing Wills.
In May he visited the UK for a three-day visit without seeing King Charles or Prince William.
