The Shady Side Of Meghan And Kate's Relationship

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle's relationship has had its fair share of ups and downs. Over the years, there have been plenty of moments where the two appeared to be getting along swimmingly, and there have also been times when even the outside world could sense the tension between them. With Kate being married to the heir and Meghan to the self-proclaimed "spare," some feel that Meghan was just living her life in the shadows — but she's always been a star, darling, and that very well may have been the catalyst for disaster. 

Perhaps one of the more interesting aspects of Kate and Meghan's relationship, or lack thereof, is the shady side, in which each woman appears to have taken part at one point or another in recent years. Some people believe that the Duchess of Sussex has intentionally thrown shade at the Princess of Wales (and vice versa), while others feel they may have fired salvos at each other without even realizing it. Whichever side of the line you fall on, there are plenty of instances where these two women have taken things to the next level. 

The shade between Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle began long before Meghan joined the royal family. Back in 2014, the former "Suits" star had a blog called "The Tig," where she wrote about all things lifestyle and fashion. In one post on the site, Meghan took aim at Kate. "Little girls dream of being princesses. ... I, for one, was all about She-Ra, Princess of Power," she wrote, according to the Daily Mail. "For those of you unfamiliar with the '80s cartoon reference, She-Ra is the twin sister of He-Man and a sword-wielding royal rebel known for her strength," she continued, adding, "We're definitely not talking about Cinderella here." She went on to say that "grown women seem to retain this childhood fantasy" before highlighting her point. "Just look at the pomp and circumstance surrounding the royal wedding and endless conversation about Princess Kate," Meghan wrote. Yikes.

And, as if that wasn't shady enough, Meghan would later say that she didn't know much about the royal family at all. The comment came during Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired in March 2021. The Duchess of Sussex claimed that she didn't Google the royal family, nor did she know much about how things were within the palace walls, making her unprepared for royal life. However, it seems as though she knew something about her in-laws before meeting them. We can't help but wonder if Kate ever read "The Tig," which was shut down in 2017.

Sister, sister. It may come as no surprise to some people to hear rumblings that Kate Middleton's sister, Pippa Middleton, wasn't sure whether or not she wanted to invite Meghan Markle to her wedding. Chances are, if your sister isn't a big fan of someone, you probably aren't either. Evidently, Pippa thought long and hard before extending a wedding invite to her sister's sister-in-law, according to the book "Finding Freedom" by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand. "Both the bride and her mom, Carole, privately harbored concerns that the American actress's presence alongside Harry might overshadow the main event," read a line from the book, according to Elle. At the end of the day, Pippa sent out the invite, but Meghan decided to skip the ceremony. Prince Harry attended solo before linking back up with his wife for the reception. 

Meanwhile, reports from outlets such as The U.S. Sun suggested that Kate and Middleton "struggled to move past distant politeness" and that Meghan's decision to skip the ceremony was made at the "last minute" because she didn't want to steal the spotlight from the bride. While we may never know the truth behind what happened before, during, and after Pippa's wedding, we can smell the shade from a mile away — and it's coming from every direction.

A classic game of point the finger took place between Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle in one of the shadiest she said/she saids we've ever seen. Prior to Meghan's royal wedding to Prince Harry, reports surfaced that the Duchess of Sussex brought her sister-in-law to tears over a disagreement. In Tom Bower's book titled "Revenge," he claims that Meghan "compared Princess Charlotte unfavorably to her best friend Jessica Mulroney's daughter," according to the Daily Mail. Allegedly, her words deeply hurt the Princess of Wales. Moreover, the two women were said to disagree over Charlotte's bridesmaid dress, but Meghan was reportedly adamant about what she wanted, which further upset Kate.

Years later, during Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey, she claims that it was actually Kate who made her cry. Yes, you read that right. "A few days before the wedding, she was upset about something pertaining to ... flower girl dresses. And it made me cry. And it really hurt my feelings," Meghan said. She explained that Kate "owned it, and she apologized." Then, Harry doubled down on the claim in his memoir, "Spare." He also said that the argument was about Charlotte's dress and that he found Meghan crying on the floor in the aftermath. TLDR: Someone made someone else cry. 

In easily one of the shadiest moves, Prince Harry and a pregnant Meghan Markle decided to move out of Kensington Palace and into Frogmore Cottage on the grounds of Windsor Castle, about 40 minutes away. On the surface, this simply looks like a happy couple relocating homes ahead of their baby's arrival, but there might be more to it. Harry and Meghan had called Nottingham Cottage home for several months and were close by to Prince William and Kate Middleton, who lived in Kensington Palace with their kids. Rather than staying close by so that the new cousins could have playdates, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had some other idea in mind. Although Harry had lived near his brother for most of his life, the royals were officially split up when Harry and Meghan moved away. Not to mention, the Sussexes would no longer conduct business at Kensington Palace, effectively moving their office to Buckingham Palace. 

On the surface, it seems that Harry and Meghan wanted to live on the grounds of Windsor Estate, which is where they tied the knot. However, their move appeared to be the beginning of the end of what royal watchers once referred to as the "Fab Four."

More shade was thrown at Kate Middleton when Meghan Markle painted her as being a bit frosty. In the Netflix documentary "Harry & Meghan," the Duchess of Sussex recalled the first time she met the future queen. The former actor seemed to be hoping to have a new bestie, perhaps braiding each other's hair and watching reruns of "Sex and the City," but that's not at all how things played out — at least, from Meghan's perspective. "When Will and Kate came over, and I met her for the first time, they came over for dinner, I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot," Meghan said in the docuseries, as noted by the Independent. "I was a hugger. I've always been a hugger, I didn't realize that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits," she said while adding, "I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside." That was to say that Kate was prim and proper in public and private.

We can't help but wonder if Kate's hug with her former history teacher a short time later was meant to shade Meghan. The photos were posted all over the British tabloids, showing a warm, affectionate Princess of Wales. Oh, and then there was that embrace with British Army medical officer Captain Preet Chandi, too.

One thing that seems extremely important to Kate Middleton is loyalty. As an outsider, she came into the royal family carrying loads of respect for those around her. She learned the proper way to conduct herself and made it her goal to ensure she was doing everything correctly. This came relatively easy for Kate, who was brought up in a home with a married mother and father. Once Meghan Markle decided that royal life wasn't for her, well, that didn't sit well with Kate — allegedly. The Princess of Wales is said to be really bothered by Meghan's royal family departure. 

"Kate's days of being a go-between in this brother-against-brother scenario are over. So, the Prince and Princess of Wales are just soldiering on," author Christopher Andersen told Fox News Digital. "That said, Kate, who has proven herself over and over again to be the most solid, reliable and resilient member of the royal family, has not turned her back on Harry entirely. She's simply not as petty, fragile or vindictive as everyone around her," he added. And so Kate has moved on from trying to fix what (currently) cannot be fixed.

More shade? In late 2022, William, the Prince of Wales, and Catherine, the Princess of Wales, made their first trip across the pond in nearly a decade. Some feel, however, that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle tried to steal their thunder, as the trailer for "Harry & Meghan" was released by Netflix while William and Kate were in Boston, Massachusetts. Source told The Times that the move was intentional and that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex chose not to defer the release. One source described the move as "definitely deliberate, without any question. But not at all unexpected."

Indeed, one could argue that people were very busy watching the trailer for "Harry & Meghan" rather than paying attention to what the future king and queen of England were doing in Beantown. The trailers for the docuseries have been watched some seven million times, after all. And the docuseries didn't disappoint. The first three episodes of the six-part series garnered a whopping 81.55 million hours of viewing globally, smashing Netflix's streaming record, according to People magazine. 

We get it. Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton don't get along. Heck, we'll go out on a limb and say they don't even like each other. But the similarities in their fashion choices are hard to deny. There have been dozens of times that the sisters-in-law have stepped out wearing items that look nearly identical to something the other wore at a different time and place. And while this may be shade, we're certain that the fashionistas wouldn't sacrifice their individual styles just to be petty. At least, we're fairly certain.  

Nevertheless, British tabloids have accused Meghan of copying Kate's impeccable style, and so have royal watchers. Soon enough, "South Park" writers decided to add fuel to the fire by releasing an episode in which the Meghan character was accused of exactly that. "The 'South Park' writers went as far to imply that Meghan copies Catherine. This was masterful," expert Jesús Enrique Rosas said, according to the Mirror. 

In September 2023, Kate was accused of duplicating Meghan's messy bun, with The Royal Observer pointing to the similarities in hairstyles and citing some X, formerly known as Twitter, users who also picked up on the copy/paste. You know what they say: Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. That's totally what's going on here, right? 

Kate Middleton doesn't really throw out insults about her sister-in-law, though she has certainly made some subtle comments that appear to be about one person in particular. For example, after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped down as senior working members of the royal family and moved away from the UK, Kate seemed to throw a teeny tiny bit of shade the Duchess of Sussex's way. In May 2023, The International News reported that Kate was visiting a school when she told the children there that to be a member of the royal family, "you have to work hard."

A few months prior, in December 2022, Kate's curtsy during the royal Christmas concert got the internet talking. The move came after Meghan did a dramatic curtsy on "Harry & Meghan," which many people took as her mocking the royal family. When a video of Kate curtsying in front of her in-laws was posted on Instagram, the comments started flowing in. "None of us [are] perfect, but the respect Princess Kate has for her in-laws [is] so incredibly lovely," one Instagram user wrote. "She handled herself graceful and elegant, as always," another Instagram comment read.

Ever since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved out of the UK, any and all well-wishes by the royal family on their birthdays have completely stopped. Okay, okay. We get it. The royal family only does public birthday shoutouts on social media to other members of the royal family (or so that's what we're led to believe). But we seriously can't help but wonder why saying "Happy birthday" has become such a task. As Prince William and Kate Middleton work to change some of the older, more traditional workings of the royal family, they refuse to budge on the happy birthday thing? Lest we not forget that Harry and Meghan's children, Archie and Lilibet, also don't get messages from their only aunt and uncle, either. 

Of course, this goes both ways. Neither Harry nor Meghan publicly wish William, Kate, or their children well on their birthdays. At least not publicly. However, given the ongoing feud between Harry and his brother, we can't imagine that pleasantries are shared privately, either. A shame, er, shade, really.

William, Prince of Wales, and Catherine, Princess of Wales, have almost always been quite strict when it comes to public displays of affection. In fact, the two rarely hold hands or embrace whenever they are in public. However, when Meghan Markle stepped onto the scene, she was sure to stick close by her husband every moment. Whenever the foursome were together, Meghan was always right next to her husband, holding his hand, despite the unwritten rule that being touchy-feely isn't professional and doesn't play to the urbane sensibilities of the royal family. One might look at Meghan's decision to ignore that bit of etiquette as a way to throw shade at her sister-in-law, who wouldn't dare break royal protocol, whether it's the "law" or not.

"Different types of occasions call for different types of behavior," writer Judy Wade told People magazine of the levels of affection that William and Kate choose to display. For Meghan, however, the occasion never seemed to matter.