Kate Middleton is ‘not the type to get het up’ in Oprah fallout and is just trying to help ‘bring the family back together and alleviate her husband’s stress and sadness,’ a source has claimed.
The Duchess of Cambridge, 39, may not be attending the unveiling of Princess Diana’s statue at Kensington Palace on Thursday, but she is playing a pivotal role behind the scenes, according to royal expert Camilla Tominey.
During an explosive chat with Oprah Winfrey in March, Meghan Markle, 39, claimed Kate made her cry before she married Prince Harry.
‘The Duchess hasn’t said much about Oprah at all,’ one source said, according to the royal expert, writing in The Telegraph. ‘I think the bridesmaids’ dress comments were the least of anyone’s worries. And she’s not really the type to get het up about these sorts of things.
‘She’s just trying to help to bring the family back together and alleviate her husband’s stress and sadness.’
Kate Middleton is ‘not the type to get het up’ in Oprah fallout and is just trying to help ‘bring the family back together and alleviate her husband’s stress and sadness,’ a source has claimed. Pictured, arriving for the Closing Ceremony of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, at Assembly Hall in Edinburgh on May 27, 2021
During an explosive chat with Oprah Winfrey in March, Meghan Markle, 39, claimed Kate made her cry before she married Prince Harry (pictured)
They continued: ‘The question for the Duke is whether he is able to override the short term pain and damage to get back to the place he once was with his brother. It’s very difficult when the trust has basically gone.’
According to royal expert Camilla Tominey, before Prince Harry and Meghan sat down with Oprah, Kate was the one informing friends she didn’t think it was too late to ‘pull them back in’.
The Duke of Cambridge and the Duke of Sussex are expected to put any tensions aside for the poignant event on Thursday, but a reunion appears to be off the cards.
Another source has claimed the brother will ‘put on a brave face’ just like they did at their late grandfather Prince Philip’s funeral on 17 April because the poignant event is not about them but remembering their beloved mother.
The Duchess of Cambridge with Princess Charlotte and other bridesmaids arriving at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle for the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan in May 2018
Meghan Markle revealed that ‘nothing is what it looks like’ when probed about her seemingly affable Wimbledon outing with Kate Middleton in 2018
They added: ‘But the idea that this can all be forgiven and forgotten… it’s going to take a lot longer than a couple of days.’
It came just weeks after Meghan Markle claimed Kate made her cry before she married Prince Harry during the bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview in March.
Meghan Markle’s infamous row with Prince William’s wife made headlines around the world after a supposed falling out over dresses for the flower girls.
Reports of the clash between the duchesses first emerged in November 2018, when sources claimed Meghan had been left displeased with the ‘stressful’ fitting.
Accounts differ as to whether the cause of the row was a disagreement on whether the bridesmaids should wear tights – Meghan reportedly believed they should not – or whether it stemmed from Princess Charlotte’s dress not fitting.
A source said at the time: ‘Kate had only just given birth to her third child, Prince Louis, and was feeling quite emotional.’
Meghan was also asked about a memorable joint-outing to Wimbledon, where the pair put on a united front and were pictured laughing together.
During the interview she appeared to cast doubt on the authenticity of that seemingly affable appearance, saying: ‘Nothing is what it looks like’.
Oprah asked Meghan: ‘Was there a situation where she (Kate) might have cried? Or she could have cried?’
But the Duchess of Sussex replied: ‘No, no. The reverse happened.
‘And I don’t say that to be disparaging to anyone, because it was a really hard week of the wedding.
‘And she was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised.
‘And she brought me flowers and a note, apologising. And she did what I would do if I knew that I hurt someone, right, to just take accountability for it.’
Meghan added that it was ‘shocking’ that the ‘reverse of that would be out in the world’.
She continued: ‘A few days before the wedding, she was upset about something pertaining – yes, the issue was correct – about flower girl dresses, and it made me cry, and it really hurt my feelings.
‘And I thought, in the context of everything else that was going on in those days leading to the wedding, that it didn’t make sense to not be just doing whatever everyone else was doing, which was trying to be supportive, knowing what was going on with my dad and whatnot.’
Meghan also said: ‘It wasn’t a confrontation, and I actually think it’s… I don’t think it’s fair to her to get into the details of that, because she apologised.
‘What was hard to get over was being blamed for something that not only I didn’t do but that happened to me.
‘And the people who were part of our wedding were going to our comms team and saying: ‘I know this didn’t happen. I don’t have to tell them what actually happened’.’
Meghan also said reports she had reduced the Duchess of Cambridge to tears were a ‘turning point.
The Duchess said ‘everyone in the institution knew that wasn’t true’ and she hoped Kate ‘would have wanted that to be corrected’, adding ‘she is a good person’.
Meghan was also asked whether a trip to watch tennis at Wimbledon with the Duchess of Cambridge was ‘what it looked like … helping you adjust’.
But the Duchess replied: ‘My understanding of the past four years is it’s nothing like what it looks like.’
Oprah then attempted to further probe into their relationship.
Referring to a day the pair spent together at Wimbledon at 2019, she asked: ‘Did you feel welcomed by everyone? It seemed like you and Kate at the Wimbledon game where you were going to watch a friend play tennis?’
‘Was it what it looked like? You are two sisters-in-law out there in the world, getting to know each other. Was she helping you, embracing you into the family, helping you?’
However Meghan appeared to dodge the question, saying: ‘My understanding and my experience of the past four years is it’s nothing like what it looks like.
‘It’s nothing like what it looks like. And I remember so often people within the firm would say, ‘Well, you can’t do this because it’ll look like that. You can’t’ so, even, ‘Can I go and have lunch with my friends?’. No, no, no. You’re oversaturated. You’re everywhere. It would be best for you to not go out to lunch with your friends.’