Meghan Markle Proves She's Envious Of Kate Middleton's Royal Return With One Sly Move
On June 15, the shady side of Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton's relationship was on display which just happened to be the same day as the Trooping the Colour parade. A day before the royal event, Kate offered up a health update on Instagram about her cancer treatment, and mentioned that she would be attending the parade, which was her first public appearance since announcing her cancer diagnosis. Joining the royals on the Buckingham Palace balcony had significant meaning for the Princess of Wales, but it appeared that Meghan tried to steal some of the spotlight.
Only hours before Kate returned to the public eye, Megan's friend, Nacho Figueras, made an Instagram post to announce the former "Suits" star was launching a new raspberry-flavored jam and dog treats under her American Riviera Orchard brand, per Page Six. Figueras made the oddly-timed post to his Instagram Stories and offered up a snap of the soon-to-be-launched ARO products.
The announcement for Meghan's pending jam and doggy snacks were met with immediate backlash. "Trying to upstage the Princess of Wales with a picture of jam ... how desperate things have become," one X, formerly Twitter, user wrote. "This was an attempt to throw shade/harass the Princess of Wales – again!" another added. Multiple Team Kate supporters pointed out how "predictable" the timing of Meghan's friend's Instagram post was. Even though they had kept up surface appearances with each other, this announcement was just another sign that Meghan and Kate's feud was even worse than people realized.
Other signs they have been on the outs
There had been reports that Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton were making incremental strides in repairing their relationship. "Moves are being made to reconcile," an insider told OK! in February. Unfortunately, those claims were not as promising as originally suspected. Royal expert Katie Nicholl clarified that while Meghan had reached out, the pair were not close to making amends. "I think those reports are slightly wide off the mark," Nicholl told ET in March. Megan and Prince Harry had made an effort to learn more about Kate's health, but they were still on the outs with both Kate and Prince William. "The relationship is very estranged now, you know, the brothers don't talk and Kate and Meghan certainly don't talk," the royal expert added.
A day after that report was published, Harry and Meghan had an icy response to Kate's cancer diagnosis. "We wish health and healing for Kate and the family, and hope they are able to do so privately and in peace," the Sussexes said in a terse statement.
Tension between Meghan and Kate was evident long before the Princess of Wales had health issues, before Megan tried to undercut her sister-in-law's public return at Trooping the Colour. In fact, the duo had an awkward exchange at the same event in 2018. After Kate asked for Megan's thoughts on the parade, the former actor said "Colorful." In his 2023 memoir "Spare," Harry wrote that following the joke, "A yawning silence threatened to swallow us all whole" (via the Independent).