Kensington Palace, Tatler magazine in war of words over ‘false’ claims made about Duchess of Cambridge

A British gossip magazine has fired back at Kensington Palace after it issued a rare statement denying claims made about Kate Middleton.

A war of words has erupted between the royal family and a British media outlet over claims the Duchess of Cambridge is feeling “exhausted and trapped” in the wake of Megxit.

On Tuesday, Kensington Palace issued a rare rebuttal to Tatler magazine’s Kate Middleton profile, claiming it contained a “swathe of inaccuracies and false misrepresentations which were not put to Kensington Palace prior to publication.”

However, Tatler has now fired back, insisting they had approached the palace about the article “months ago”.

"Tatler's editor-in-chief Richard Dennen stands behind the reporting of Anna Pasternak and her sources,” a representative said.

"Kensington Palace knew we were running the Catherine the Great cover months ago and we asked them to work together on it.

"The fact they are denying they ever knew is categorically false."

Tatler magazine claimed the Duchess of Cambridge was feeling “exhausted” after Megxit. Picture: Tolga Akamen/AFP

The magazine claimed she was “furious” about her extra workload. Picture: Arthur Edwards/Getty Images

Tatler– which is known for reporting on the private lives of British celebrities, socialites and royal family members – claimed in an article this week that the Duchess felt “exhausted and trapped” in the wake of Megxit.

It quoted a close friend who said Kate was “furious” after Prince Harry and Meghan decided to step down as senior members of the royal family, leaving others to pick up extra work.

“Kate is furious about the larger workload. Of course she’s smiling and dressing appropriately but she doesn’t want this,” the friend reportedly said.

“She feels exhausted and trapped. She’s working as hard as a top CEO, who has to be wheeled out all the time, without the benefits of boundaries and plenty of holidays,” the friend added.

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The lengthy article also claimed that the Duchess of Cambridge had argued with Meghan over whether to wear tights at the Sussexes’ wedding in 2018.

“There was an incident at the wedding rehearsal,” the article said, quoting another friend of the Cambridges.

“It was a hot day and apparently there was a row over whether the bridesmaids should wear tights or not. Kate, following protocol, felt that they should. Meghan didn’t want them to,” the friend said.

The Tatler article also claimed the Cambridges never took Meghan under their wing. Picture: Phil Harris/AFP

But in a terse statement issued on Tuesday night, Kensington Palace said the article was full of “inaccuracies” and “misrepresentations”.

The statement did not point to any of the magazine’s claims in particular.

The Duchess of Cambridge has kept busy during the coronavirus pandemic. Picture: Kensington Palace via Getty Images

Several members of the royal family have conducted their duties via video link during the lockdown. Picture: Kensington Palace via Getty Images

It is extremely rare for palace officials to slap down claims made about the royal family in the media.

ITV News’s royal editor Chris Ship described it as an “unusual step” that proved Kensington Palace was “clearly very unhappy”.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have kept busy during the coronavirus lockdown, conducting several official royal duties via video link.

They played bingo with residents of a care home in Wales last week, while earlier this month they joined a video call with volunteers from a mental health text service.

Harry and Meghan, who dramatically quit the royal family a year after they got married, have also kept busy in the United States.

The two spent Easter delivering meals for those too ill to cook for themselves and helped to provide 250,000 meals for struggling Brits during lockdown with their $166,000 wedding donation.