Kate Middleton (left) and Meghan Markle, the sisters-in-law who can’t stand each other / File
The book of Prince Henry of England, entitled “Spare” (“In the shadow” in Spanish), is having a brilliant success in bookstores. In his pages, the youngest son of Carlos III and grandson of the late Isabel II spares no criticism, such as his brother Guillermo, whom he describes as an “archenemy”.
And neither does he spare details when describing the tense relationship between his wife Meghan Markle, a mixed-race American, and Guillermo’s wife, Kate Middleton.
In his memoirs, Enrique points to his sister-in-law Kate, the current princess of Wales, talking about the days before his wedding with Markle, to recount an event that made his wife cry with some text messages that Middleton sent her.
According to Harry, there was a problem with the bridesmaids’ dresses, which included his niece, Princess Charlotte. They were French haute couture garments, sewn by hand with the measurements of each girl.
Middleton wrote to Markle explaining the situation. However, given the large number of messages Meghan had on her cell phone related to the wedding, it took her several hours to respond that the tailor was waiting for them to make the arrangements. In addition, the Duchess of Sussex was dealing with the chaos surrounding her father, Thomas Markle, who did not travel to the UK to walk her down the aisle at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle on May 19, 2018.
The hours that Meghan took to respond bothered the wife of William, successor to the throne. “Charlotte’s dress is too big, long and baggy. She cried when she tried it on at home,” Kate wrote to Meghan, according to Enrique. And Meghan replied: “I already told you that the tailor has been waiting since eight in the morning at Kensington Palace, can you take Charlotte to have it adjusted, like the other mums are doing?”
The prince recounts that Kate responded emphatically that they had to make the dresses again. Meghan asked her if she was aware of what was happening with her father right now. Kate said she was, but the dresses weren’t ready and the wedding was “in four days.” Harry’s fiancée replied: “Yes, Kate, I know…”, the American replied.
MEGHAN’S TEARS
“I do not know what else to say. If her dress doesn’t fit, please take Charlotte to see Ajay (the tailor), she’s been waiting all day.” Something to which her sister-in-law responded with a simple and dry “fine”, which means “okay”. “Shortly after I came home and found Meghan crying on the floor,” Enrique details in his explosive biography.
King Charles III’s youngest son says he doesn’t think his sister-in-law would have been so abrupt on purpose, adding that the morning after those messages, Kate came to his house with an apology card and flowers.
What she only reveals later is that that afternoon, Meghan told her that the problem was that she was still hormonal because she had just given birth, something that greatly offended Kate and that she “billed” her some time later. “We’re not so confident that you’re talking about my hormones,” she snapped. And Guillermo finished: “She is rude, Meghan. They don’t do those things here.”
Enrique also recounts in his memoirs that when he told Guillermo and Kate that he was dating Meghan, “their jaws dropped” because they were fans of Suits, the series Markle was working on at the time. This excited the youngest prince, he thought that the four of them could make a united group. But his older sister warned him: “That may not happen, and you will have to make do. After all, she is an American actress. Anything could happen.”
Despite racial resentments and rejection of Meghan’s direct and unstructured style, Enrique felt that Guillermo appreciated his girlfriend.
The Duke of Sussex also tells an anecdote that the sisters-in-law starred in February 2018 during the Royal Foundation Forum. “Meg asked Kate for her lip gloss. Something very American. She had forgotten hers, she was worried about needing it and she asked Kate for it,” Enrique narrates. Surprised, she rummaged in her bag and reluctantly pulled out a small tube. Meg put some on her finger and applied it to her lips. Then Kate made a disgusted face.
It is clear that there is a clash of styles between the two. Can they ever be friends? Time will tell.
