The secret rift between Duchess Catherine and Princess Beatrice has gone public and the royals are taking sides.
Amongst royal circles, it’s no secret that the pair are hardly the best of friends. Ever since Catherine married Prince William in 2011 and became the new darling of the British monarchy, tensions have been simmering between them.
This year alone, Catherine has been winning hearts around the world – especially in Australia, during the international Royal tour. With darling young Prince George in her arms as she went, the world can’t get enough of the beautiful doting wife and mother.
Related: The highlights of Wills and Kate’s Aussie Royal tour
Meanwhile, Beatrice and her sister Princess Eugenie have been relegated to attending garden parties and cutting ribbons. And playing second fiddle to Kate, 32, is a bitter pill for Beatrice, to swallow.
Woman’s Day’s sources reveal that Beatrice, 25 refers to Kate as “the Chosen One”, and complains to friends that “she gets the glamour jobs, the clothing allowance, the limos and the royal protection team, while I travel economy”.
The rift is reported to have escalated recently to a point where it can no longer be dismissed as a bit of youthful rivalry. Who was the one to kick off the tensions? Unsurprisingly it was Harry – the playful Prince, because of a wisecrack he made to his then girlfriend Cressida Bonas.
Our insider reveals: “He was drinking with Cress and some of their regular crowd when Harry commented that Kate always looked stunning and that, in comparison, Beatrice and Eugenie look like the ugly stepsisters.”
“Everybody burst out laughing, except for Cressida, who’s close friends with Beatrice and Eugenie. She told him it was a horrible thing to say, and not surprisingly it got back to them.”
Related: Prince Harry’s cooking bid to win back Cressida Bonas!
The next thing palace insiders knew, it had turned into an all-out battle.
Beatrice and Eugenie, 24, now make openly snide remarks about Kate and her sister Pippa, who they describe as “vacuous” and “pushy”. We understand the sisters also take potshots at Kate’s determination to maintain a slim frame.
“They constantly mock her body obsession. They think she’s so vain,” a member of their inner circle tells us.
On Catherine’s side, she feels frustrated at how the sisters never accepted her into the family as one of their own and thinks that they are highly spoiled. “Her view is that Beatrice and Eugenie have had it easy and made little effort to find a role for themselves in royal life,” says our insider. “Having come from a family of self-made millionaires, Kate feels hard work has got her to where she is today.”
Fortunately for Catherine, she has found an unlikely ally in Zara Phillips. “They never used to get on, but they’ve become friends in recent years,” we’re told. “They’re both hard workers so they feel they’ve been cut from the same cloth, and neither Kate nor Zara have time for the whingeing that comes from Beatrice.”
Related: Zara Phillips’ royal fan club
Harry, meanwhile, feels bad that his drunken quip was the catalyst for the feud, and a close friend of his says, “He had to grovellingly apologise to them.”
Related: Betting suspended on Duchess Catherine’s pregnancy
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Read the full exclusive story in this week’s Woman’s Day on sale July 21, 2013.**
