From the time of Meghan Markle’s engagement to Prince Harry in November 2017 to the 2022 Netflix docu-series detailing the couple’s exit from the royal family, members of the press and public have been fascinated by the relationship between the Duchess of Sussex and her sister-in-law, Kate Middleton.
Speculation over tensions between the two began to circulate in November 2018, just six months after the royal wedding, with reports that Meghan had made Kate cry in an argument over bridesmaid’s dresses.
In March 2021, Meghan finally took the opportunity to settle the rumors in her own voice, telling Oprah Winfrey in her landmark TV interview that Kate had been the one to make her cry, and that an apology had been made that she accepted.
Meghan closed the discussion about her sister-in-law by appealing to fans of both royals, saying: “If you love me, you don’t have to hate her. And if you love her, you don’t need to hate me.”
Here, Newsweek looks at what Kate has said publicly about Harry and Meghan throughout their six-year relationship.
What Kate Middleton Said About Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Engagement
Harry and Meghan announced their engagement on November 27, 2017, with a photo call and sit down interview at Kensington Palace, where they were living at Nottingham Cottage, a few hundred yards away from Prince William and Kate Middleton’s apartment 1A home.
The following day Kate took part in a previously scheduled engagement at London’s Foundling Museum and during her arrival gave a rare response to a journalist’s question in front of the gathered news cameras.
In response to the question: “How do you feel about yesterday’s royal wedding announcement?” the then-Duchess of Cambridge said she was “thrilled.”
What Kate Middleton Said About Meghan and Harry’s First Pregnancy
By the time Meghan and Harry announced at the end of 2018 that they were expecting their first child, reports that the duchess and Kate were not getting along had begun to circulate.
On November 28, the British tabloid The Sun broke a story that Meghan had made Kate cry in a confrontation over bridesmaid’s dresses earlier in the year. The following day, Kate broke her usual silence by discussing Meghan with a group of well-wishers on an engagement in the city of Leicester.
When asked “Are you excited for Meghan and her new baby?” the royal responded that it was “really special.”
What Kate Middleton Said About the Birth of Lilibet Mountbatten Windsor
Meghan and Harry announced that they were expecting the arrival of a second child on Valentine’s Day 2021, nearly a year on from the couple having stepped down from their roles as working royals and moving to the U.S.
The couple revealed the gender of their baby during a bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey a month later, the same interview in which Meghan claimed that Kate had made her cry before her wedding.
Meghan gave birth to a baby girl named Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor on June 4 and announced the news two days later. With this, members of the royal family, who had come under critical scrutiny following allegations of uncaring treatment and, for one unnamed member, racism over comments about the Sussex’s children’s skin color, posted their congratulations online.
