Kate Middleton v Meghan Markle: Inside their fierce royal rivalry
It has been another scandal-plagued year for Meghan Markle, while Kate Middleton branded herself as the Queen-in-wait. Here is how their rivalry played out.
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If anyone needed proof Kate Middleton was the House of Windsor’s golden girl, it came on the red carpet of the James Bond No Time To Die film premiere in November.
Glittering in a figure-hugging gold gown, the Duchess of Cambridge looked every bit the Queen-in-wait.
Half a world away, her sister-in-law Meghan Markle delivered her own fashion triumphs — albeit hugely expensive ones.
But they could not distract from a myriad of scandals, both public and private, the most jaw-dropping of which was Meghan and Harry’s bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey.
The gulf in public sentiment between Meghan and Kate is now wider than it has ever been.
ROYAL SCANDALS
Meghan, 40, was branded a hero for laying bare the emotional torment, racism, and suicidal ideation she endured during her brief stint as a working royal, when she and husband Prince Harry, 37, sat down for a tell-all with Oprah in March.
However, the Duchess of Sussex was villainised for just about everything that came after.
From the couple’s $US25 million ($A35.1 million) Spotify deal and Archewell Foundation announcement to the release of her children’s book, The Bench, Meghan’s motives and agenda were questioned — over and over — even by her own estranged family.
As tensions escalated within the royals, a then-pregnant Meghan sat out Prince Philip’s funeral in April. Harry attended alone, in yet another news-making affair.
By contrast, Kate, 39, conducted herself with the decorum and discretion one would expect of the future Queen of England.
Indeed, she kept her lips sealed when Meghan confirmed the longstanding rumour that she brought Meghan to tears before her wedding in 2018.
“She made me cry,” Meghan had told Oprah, of her sister-in-law. “It hurt my feelings. But it was a really hard week before the wedding. She was upset and apologised and brought flowers and wrote a note.”
Kate also maintained a respectful silence over other private royal family matters, aired in the Oprah-sit-down, including claims of racism in the palace.
And she did not respond to Meghan’s “precedent-setting” privacy victory in the UK high court in December.
A three-judge panel rejected an appeal by tabloid The Mail on Sunday for breaching the Duchess of Sussex’s privacy by publishing extracts of a private letter to her father, Thomas Markle in 2018.
RELATIONSHIP WITH QUEEN
Meghan and Harry were forced to deny claims of a feud with the Queen, after reports suggested they were upset after Her Majesty failed to act on the racism accusations.
An updated version of the book Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, suggested the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were “not impressed” with the way Buckingham Palace dealt with what was said in the Oprah interview (the couple’s lawyers denied the claims).
In it, the couple had made a string of very serious allegations against the royal family to Oprah, including an unnamed family member who questioned what their son Archie’s skin colour would be and “what that would mean or look like”.
Meghan also alleged their son Archie Harrison wasn’t made a prince after “concerns and conversations” about “how dark” his skin would be.
The Queen responded with a rare statement, saying she was “saddened by the claims” but that “some recollections may vary”.
In the re-released Finding Freedom, authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand wrote: “The Queen’s ‘recollections may vary’ comment ‘did not go unnoticed by the couple, who a close source said were ‘not surprised’ that full ownership was not taken”.
A source told the authors: “Little accountability has been taken. How can you move forward with that?’”
Meanwhile, Kate used 2021 to build on her close relationship with Queen Elizabeth. In April, Kate mourned the loss of Prince Philip at his April funeral, alongside her husband Prince William, the Queen, and father-in-law Prince Charles.
The Duchess of Cambridge, together with William, 39, expanded their royal duties due to the Queen’s illness, most notably attending the at the Glasgow climate summit in November.
FAMILY
Meghan and Harry were panned in June for the name they gave their second child, Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor, as “Lilibet” was Prince Philip’s private nickname for Queen Elizabeth.
Meghan and Harry have fiercely shielded their children from the public eye, and did not release a photo of Lili when she was born.
One of the only recent sightings of Archie, 2, was from behind, in a social media post marking his second birthday.
Kate, on the other hand, has been more open about her children, perhaps due to the nature of royal protocol and expectation given their positions in line to the throne.
She released gorgeous photos of Prince George, 8, Princess Charlotte, 6, and Prince Louis, 3, throughout the year, including at Christmas.
Kate also extended her love of fashion to her children, dressing them in adorable outfits, some which were thrifty – such as an $18.50 polo shirt George wore on his birthday in July.
STYLE STARS
While Kate mixed cheap and designer fashion brands, Meghan was accused of flaunting her wealth by wearing expensive outfits.
Posing on the cover of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people on the planet issue in September, Meghan and Harry were mocked for the overly airbrushed appearance.
In a shoot that accompanied an article about the couple’s humanitarism, Meghan was smashed for wearing $350,000-plus worth of Cartier accessories and diamonds, and an expensive outfit by The Row.
On a tour of New York, she sported a Valentino dress and Cartier accessories – an ensemble alone worth $39,898 – and an Emporio Armani power suit and Aquazzura heels that had a collective price tag of nearly $3500.
She was accused of copying former First Lady Michelle Obama when she sported a $5000 berry-coloured Loro Piana power suit and Manolo Blahnik heels.
Kate took her regal style to the next level, recycling outfits and pairing cheap high street labels like Zara and H&M. She even sported a pair of skinny jeans to meet Scouts in Glasgow – with Ralph Lauren, Chloe, and Jenny Packham.
But her piece de resistance was a glittering gold Jenny Packham gown at the premiere of 007 flick No Time To Die in London.
The Duchess of Cambridge’s outfit led US Vogue to ask: “Is that a Bond girl or Kate Middleton we see?” Her outfit was approved by Bond himself – aka actor Daniel Craig – who told the Duchess: “You look jolly lovely”.
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