Meghan and Kate’s bitter feud began with power struggle over fashion designer: Report

Well before Kate and Meghan’s pre-wedding meltdown made global headlines, they were butting heads for a completely different reason.

Long before the feud between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton made international headlines, the two were already at odds – over couture, a new report reveals.

In 2017, London designer Erdem Moralioglu caused a rift between the pair when actor and fashion blogger Meghan, then recently engaged to Prince Harry, suddenly found herself persona non grata at one of her favourite labels. The reason? Kate had an arrangement to receive VIP access to Moralioglu’s outfits, also favoured by actresses Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts and Claire Foy, reports the New York Post.

There was a family fashion hierarchy when it came to the royals getting “first dibs on designers,” according to the Telegraph, which detailed one of Meghan’s first experiences getting tangled up in palace red tape – an incident, according to the paper, not included in Harry’s seismic new memoir Spare.

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Meghan wearing Erdem at an event to mark Commonwealth Day in London in 2019. Picture: Chris Jackson/Pool/AFP

Moralioglu’s Erdem label was established in 2005 and quickly cemented itself as a statement brand for its romantic floral prints and elegantly understated sequined dresses.

Kate had been a long-time fan, famously wearing the designer’s looks on a number of royal engagements, including a midi off-the-shoulder frock with frayed edges and a fluted skirt in 2018, and as an anchor designer while pregnant with Prince George and Princess Charlotte, accentuating her baby bump in figure fitting floral dresses.

Kate has regularly worn Erdem, including at an official engagement in Canada in 2011. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

And at the opening of the V&A Photography Centre at Victoria & Albert Museum in 2018. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Meghan, too, was a fan of the designer – well before she met Harry – sporting his designs while working on the Canada-filmed legal drama Suits. She stepped out in the brand’s Davina dress from the 2015 collection during an appearance on the US Today show in 2016, re-wearing the frock for a Christmas lunch with the late Queen in 2018, according to the Telegraph.

“Erdem Moralioglu was one of Meghan’s absolute favourites, but even after Harry had put a ring on it, Kate, who was already a client, continued to get priority,” the paper reported.

The report dovetails with Prince Harry’s detailing of the prickly relationship between Meghan and Kate in his new memoir, with fashion proving to be an ongoing pain point for the pair.

He recounts the infamously icy feud between the duo over Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaids dress not fitting correctly. The text exchange reportedly left Meghan “sobbing on the floor”.

Meghan has spoken out about her struggle over what to wear as part of the royal family, as well as the stress lower-rung female members were put under not to match their seniors.

“Most of the time I was in the UK, I rarely wore colour,” she revealed in the Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.

This article originally appeared in the New York Post and was reproduced with permission