When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got engaged, many fans expected the Suits alum and Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton) to really bond over their unique experiences of marrying princes in the British royal family.
But in less than two years, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex shocked everyone when they stepped down from their roles and left the U.K. and moved to the U.S. What came next was unexpected as Meghan and Harry began doing interviews and publicly discussing how they were unfairly treated as senior royals, followed by a Netflix docuseries sharing more about that.
Their allegations did some damage to the royal family’s reputation. Even Kate, who pretty much had a squeaky-clean image at the time, wasn’t safe from the Sussexes’ wrath when Meghan gave her version of the infamous bridesmaid dress story. While the duchess’s side of the story surprised a lot of people some experts have noted that looking back now, tension could be seen between the women as far back as their first royal engagement together.
During her primetime special with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan claimed that the public had misinformation about what happened during Princess Charlotte’s dress fitting before she married Prince Harry.
When asked if she made Kate cry, the duchess replied, “The reverse happened. And I don’t say that to be disparaging to anyone … It was a really hard week of the wedding, and she was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologized, and she bought me flowers, and a note apologizing.”
Meghan brought up her sister-in-law again during her and Harry’s 2022 Netflix docuseries in what many deemed as a shot at the princess when she talked about their first meeting and Kate not being a “hugger.”
“When Will and Kate came over, and I was meeting her for the first time, I remember I was in ripped jeans, I was barefoot,” Meghan recalled.
Harry’s wife then explained that she went to embrace Kate, but didn’t get a warm reaction, saying: “I was a hugger, always been a hugger. I didn’t realize that is really jarring for a lot of Brits. I guess I’d start to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside. There is a forward-facing way of being, and then you close the door and you relax now. But that formality carries over on both sides. And that was surprising to me.”
But it was the foursome’s first engagement together where tensions showed on stage during their first outing with the princes.
On Feb. 28, 2018, Harry, Meghan, Kate, and Prince William appeared onstage together at the Royal Foundation Forum. The forum focused on programs and charity work run by The Royal Foundation and a number of delegates who have been involved in key projects. It was also Megan’s first joint royal engagement.
That event is one that body language experts and royal commentators often point to as the day it looked like there was a hint that things weren’t as they seemed between the smiling foursome.
While onstage Meghan voiced her support for the #MeToo and #TimesUp campaigns, but didn’t seem to be insync with what Kate and William were discussing. And at one point the duchess was heard making a comment that hinted at her frustration.
Daily Mail columnist Sarah Sands revealed that Meghan was overheard making a remark when she had to wait to speak after the others were done. According to Sands, Meghan didn’t look happy at all and asked: “Don’t I have a voice?”
The Royal Foundation Forum was supposed to be an annual event, but the first one with the foursome together was also their last.
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