Meghan Markle accused of being difficult, demanding and clashing with Kate Middleton
She is the beautiful American star who mended Prince Harry’s heart and captivated the world. But months after her wedding, Meghan Markle is accused of being difficult, demanding and not getting along with Kate Middleton. So what has happened?
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She was the fairy princess, the beautiful American actor who mended Prince Harry’s broken heart and captivated the world with her poise and glamour.
But just six months after her wedding to Prince Harry, the woman known formerly as Meghan Markle is facing a torrid time in the UK, accused of being difficult, demanding and not getting along with her sister-in-law, the former Catherine Middleton.
She is also accused of splitting up the brothers, Prince William and Prince Harry, and being behind the decision to move out to Windsor Castle before their baby arrives in March or April, meaning the two families will no longer be neighbours at Kensington Palace.
The two couples, known as the Fab Four, are also planning to split their royal households, meaning the brothers will not share an office, although they remain joint patrons of the Royal Foundation, William and Harry’s main charity.
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Royal expert Katie Nicholl said she had been told of tensions between the group.
She said while the stories emanating from the royal court were all unconfirmed, “there’s never smoke without fire.’’
“Kensington Palace are very keen to play down any narratives of a rift,’’ Ms Nicholl, who wrote the book Harry: Life, Loss, and Love, told News Corp.
“We will see what happens with the Royal Foundation.
“There were high hopes that we’d have this wonderful glamorous foursome at Kensington Palace but this move to Windsor will put an end to that.
“Not since the days of Diana and Fergie have we had such a fascinating dynamic.’’
Indeed the way the British media has been reporting the supposed Meghan and Catherine split is eerily similar to events more than 30 years ago, when the public gushed over two earlier royal brides — Diana Spencer and Sarah Ferguson — before the coverage turned on Fergie, the outsider.
Only last month, Harry, 34, and Meghan, 37, known formally as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, were on every front page as they toured Australia, announced they were expecting a baby, and wowed crowds across the Pacific with their irresistible mix of royal glamour and approachable warmth.
Like the commoner Sarah Ferguson when she married Prince Andrew, Meghan was being hailed as the breath of fresh air the fusty royal family needed — the divorced, bi-racial American with a history of right-on activism.
She helped Prince Harry grow up seemingly overnight, from an angry, grief-stricken young man still broken over the death of his mother Princess Diana, who had spoken several times of his wish for a family of his own.
But in the past few weeks, stories have emerged from the royal courts criticising Meghan for such things as getting up each day at 5am, bombarding her staff with text messages, and failing to follow royal protocol (by not wearing a hat when the Queen did, closing her own car door, crossing her legs at the knee, and being too affectionate with Harry in public.)
These were minor niggles, always attributed to anonymous sources, but things went up a notch with two stories on November 9 about Meghan and Harry supposedly being difficult in the lead-up to their wedding at St George’s Chapel.
According to The Sun newspaper, Queen Elizabeth had to intervene after Meghan set her heart on wearing the emerald-encrusted Vladimir tiara at the wedding.
Courtiers were concerned because the tiara is believed to have come originally from Russia, and Meghan — allegedly reluctantly — finally agreed to wear something else, settling on Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau.
According to the report, both the Queen and her long-time dresser, Angela Kelly, were surprised at how hard Meghan and Harry stuck to their demands and it was alleged there were “temper tantrums.’’
“There was a very heated exchange that prompted the Queen to speak to Harry. She said, ‘Meghan cannot have whatever she wants. She gets what tiara she’s given by me,’’ The Sun reported.
On the same day, a new book by royal expert Robert Jobson, Charles at 70, claimed Harry was “petulant and short-tempered’’ before the wedding, and was alleged to have raised his voice as he told the staff: ‘What Meghan wants, Meghan gets’.’’
The Queen reportedly stepped in and put her grandson Harry “firmly in his place’’ according to Jobson’s book.
And things went thermonuclear last Sunday when The Sun’s royal reporter Emily Andrews revealed Harry and Meghan would not be moving into apartment 1A at Kensington Palace next door to William and Catherine early next year.
Kensington Palace confirmed the news a few hours later, saying the pair would be moving out of Nottingham Cottage in Kensington Palace and into Frogmore Cottage at Windsor Castle.
That sparked the next round of criticism of the cost to taxpayers to upgrade the new home, which is currently disused and chopped up into five staff apartments.
Underlying all of this are persistent stories of a spat between Meghan and Catherine, and like Yoko Ono in the Beatles era, Meghan was somehow responsible for breaking up the brothers.
On Wednesday, The Sun’s front page screamed: ‘Meghan Made Kate Cry’ and said Catherine had ended up in tears at a bridesmaid dress fitting for her daughter Princess Charlotte before Meghan’s wedding, but didn’t say precisely how she’d ended up upset.
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, said the sisters-in-law did have a “fractious relationship.’’
“Kate finds Meghan overpowering, but Kate is far too clever to allow it to go on and as a future queen would have seen it as her duty to make amends with Meghan,’’ Ms Seward told News Corp.
“I don’t think they will ever be best friends but the story of their fallout is old and has only being written about because of the move to Frogmore.’’
Ms Seward, author of My Husband & I — the story of the Queen and Prince Philip’s marriage, said she doubted the move to Frogmore had anything to do with Kate and Meghan’s relationship.
“Harry finds Kensington Palace a gilded prison to live in and has always wanted to move out,’’ she said.
“Frogmore Cottage will be lovely to live in when it is refurbished. It is very private and they have the whole Frogmore estate to protect them.
“It is very close to London and when they travel they have outriders and the traffic is stopped when they pass, as it is with the Queen going to Windsor.’’
Ms Seward said Meghan has “worked very hard and done well’’ since becoming a royal but needed better advice on some projects, such as private visits to Grenfell Tower fire survivors.
“She needs a senior guide like Diana had with (assistant private secretary) Anne Beckwith Smith.
“I think an older American woman living in London with a knowledge of how it all works both in the US and UK would be ideal to guide her through all the pitfalls.
“She can’t possibly know the rights and wrongs of the political situations surrounding what she does.’’
Ms Seward said all newcomers to the royal family including Diana, Fergie and Sophie, who married Prince Edward, had teething problems.
“Her (Meghan’s) halo has slipped, but that doesn’t prevent her from being as popular amongst her many fans,’’ she said.
Polls have shown that Meghan-mania, and the enormous affection the public has for Meghan and Harry, has firmed up public support for the monarchy, and made life more difficult for republicans including in countries such as Australia.
Harry was deemed the most popular royal in a national YouGov poll in the UK earlier this month (followed by the Queen, Prince William, Catherine, Prince Philip, Meghan and Prince Charles, in that order).
The next generation of royals is widely considered to have shored up the royal family, which will help them weather any unease the public feels when Harry and William’s father Prince Charles replaces his mother Queen Elizabeth as sovereign.
William and Harry lost their beloved mother Princess Diana in a car crash in 1997 when they were just 15 and 12 years old, and for years the public has been told they were best of mates, living side-by-side and working together with a joint household and joint charities.
When Prince Harry announced his engagement, William welcomed the news with the endearing comment that maybe Harry would now stop raiding his and Catherine’s fridge.
Now, as William prepares to one day become King, and sixth-in-line Harry prepares to become a father, they seem to have chosen a different path, with separate offices, and new homes further away.
Ms Nicholl said the brothers were still “incredibly close’’ but she believed William had told Harry a few things “he hasn’t wanted to hear’’.
“When it comes to Meghan and Kate — they are two different characters,’’ she said, although she did not think they considered themselves rivals.
“This idea that Kate is a wallflower is not true. She’s a very strong, focused woman.
“I do know Kate has gone out of her way to make Meghan feel welcome. There were occasions where she invited Meghan over for tea, she took her to Wimbledon.
“I think it was always going to be the case that they weren’t going to be the best of friends because they are so different.’’
Ms Nicholl said Harry and Meghan’s move to Windsor was “unexpected’’.
“Kensington Palace had always been the residence for both of the brothers to establish their courts and so it’s very surprising that Harry is leaving,’’ she said.
“Yes, they need more space and Harry loves the countryside but to be leaving William and Kate does hint at some underlying issues because the plan was originally for Meghan and Harry to stay at Kensington Palace.’’
She urged people to “cut Meghan some slack for perhaps tripping up’’.
“This is the first time the narrative has turned against Meghan.
“She has had a very positive response in the press so far but I think it was inevitable that the narrative was going to turn at some point.
“Don’t underestimate how difficult it is to marry into the royal family.’’
Ms Seward echoed this, saying: “Prince Charles once said that the British people build you up on a pedestal only to knock you down again and that is exactly what is happening to Meghan.”
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