After Meghan Markle accused Kate Middleton of making her cry, the duchess decided to ‘rise above’ it and act as a peacemaker at Prince Philip’s wedding, a royal expert has claimed.
The Duchess of Cambridge, 39, has been commended for her response to the allegations the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made about her and the royal family in their recent bombshell interviews and ‘was not overawed by drama,’ according to Camilla Tominey.
During an explosive chat with Oprah Winfrey in March, Meghan Markle, 39, claimed Kate made her cry before she married Prince Harry.
However, when Harry was reunited with his family just weeks later at his grandfather Prince Philip’s funeral, Kate was the first member of the family to be seen chatting to him – and was even spotted holding back in a bid to reunite him with brother, Prince William.
Writing for Stella magazine, Camilla said: ‘Despite the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Oprah Winfrey interview, when Kate was accused of making Meghan cry during a bridesmaid’ s dress fitting and failing to support her, Kate rose decidedly above it all.
‘Setting aside any personal resentment she may still feel about Harry and Meghan’s televised two-hour tell-all, Kate put her best foot forward in trying to carve a path to reconciliation between the brothers.’
After Meghan Markle accused Kate Middleton of making her cry during the bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview in March (pictured, with Prince Harry), the duchess decided to ‘rise above’ it and act as a peacemaker, royal expert Camilla Tominey claimed
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
Prince Harry and Prince William were spotted together out of St George’s Chapel at Prince Philip’s funeral in April as Kate Middleton also walked alongside them
She added: ‘Few would have blamed her for giving Harry the cold shoulder, yet she clearly resolved that the situation needed to be appeased rather than aggravated.’
‘It was a deft move that shows the Duchess is not overawed by all that’s going on.’
During Prince Philip’s funeral on 17 April in Windsor following his death aged 99, the estranged brothers were reunited for first time in more than a year.
The princes talked while walking out of St George’s Chapel following the service, having earlier taken part in the procession either side of their cousin Peter Phillips behind the Duke of Edinburgh’s coffin.
The Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex in the Royal Box on Centre Court at Wimbledon in July 2019
Meghan Markle revealed that ‘nothing is what it looks like’ when probed about her seemingly affable Wimbledon outing with Kate Middleton in 2018
Harry was initially seen speaking to his sister-in-law Kate Middleton as they left the chapel and began walking, but then she appeared to hang back so he could talk to William for a few moments without her.
According to royal biographer Christopher Wilson, Kate’s decision to initiate a conversation with Harry, which resulted in the brothers talking, was unlikely a planned event.
He told the publication: ‘I didn’t see that as being a staged thing. I thought it was entirely spontaneous and clever in making the two brothers talk to each other. It was a deft move that shows the Duchess is not overawed by all that’s going on.’
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.”