When Meghan Markle took her first steps towards joining the royal family in 2017, all eyes were on her relationship with Kate Middleton.
Hopes were high that the two women would become fast friends as Kate showed Meghan the ropes of royalty and helped her adapt to her new title as the Duchess of Sussex.
In the early days it really looked like the friendship royal fans were so eager to see would, in fact, flourish.
But then the rumour mill started turning.
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex at Sandringham on Christmas Day in 2018.
(Getty)Headlines warned of a royal feud and “duelling duchesses”, while unnamed sources whispered of tears and tantrums behind palace walls.
It was hard to know what to believe, and with each new joint outing, Kate and Meghan’s interactions were picked apart for any signs of discontent between the two women.
Now they live on opposite sides of the world, Kate with the rest of the royals in the UK, Meghan and Prince Harry in California with their two children.
In 2020, when the Duke and Duchess of Sussex first moved to the US, royal commentators claimed it would spell the end of any sisterly bond between Kate and Meghan.
But how much of what the tabloids printed about the duchess’ relationship was true?
And will they be able to reconnect now that Meghan has welcomed her daughter, Lilibet Diana, and Kate has said she’s eager to meet her new niece?
Read on for the full history of Meghan and Kate’s relationship, and how they may come to be close friends yet.
December 2017
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge first met Meghan Markle in January of 2017 but wasn’t pictured with her until December of that year, after Meghan and Prince Harry announced their engagement.
Not much is known of their first meeting, but the book Finding Freedom by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand claims Kate was very accommodating. “The meeting ended with Kate letting Meghan know that she was always welcome to contact her if she needed anything,” it explained.
December 2017
Kate said in November 2017 that she and Prince William were “absolutely thrilled” by the news of Harry and Meghan’s engagement.
The following month, she was photographed chatting with Meghan as they attended church at on Christmas Day at Sandringham with the royal family for Meghan’s first royal event. Hopes for a budding friendship were high.
February 2018
The duchesses reunited a few months later for a joint event with Harry and William for the Royal Foundation. The two couples were dubbed the royal “fab four” and Meghan and Kate seemed to enjoy one another’s company on the stage.
“We have different opinions, and they work really well [together]. Working as family does have its challenges; of course, it does,” Harry quipped at the event.
May 2018
Kate attended Meghan and Harry’s royal wedding on May 19, 2018 and there were plenty of comparisons to her nuptials in 2011.
While Kate certainly didn’t steal the show on Meghan’s big day, it was later claimed that the two women had bickered over Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress in the lead-up to the ceremony. There was even talk that Meghan had made Kate cry at one fitting.
July 2018
Everything seemed rosy when Kate and Meghan attended Wimbledon together a few months later, the duchess snapped chatting happily and sharing a few laughs. It was their first public engagement without their respective husbands, and the two seemed to be getting along swimmingly as sisters-in-law.
July 2018
Though the royals ladies looked nothing but friendly at their Wimbledon appearance, more rumours of division between them started swirling in the second half of 2018.
British outlets reported that the supposed blow-up over Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress had seriously affected their relationship, leaving the two women – as The Telegraph claimed at the time – “at breaking point.”
November 2018
After weeks of tabloid speculation about Meghan and Kate’s relationship, Kensington Palace put out a rare statement to dispel the rumours.
It specifically addressed a story that claimed Kate had a go at Meghan after the Duchess of Sussex was allegedly rude to Kate’s staff. “This never happened,” the palace said of the supposed row.
December 2018
A year after they were first photographed together, Meghan and Kate returned to Sandringham for another Christmas with the royal family. They were snapped laughing and chatting as they headed to church with the rest of the royals, seeming to quell rumours of a feud.
March 2019
As 2018 came to an end and 2019 began, the Sussexes announced their plans to separate from Cambridges. Previously, the two couples had worked together with a shared royal household but Harry and Meghan struck out alone with the new Sussex Royal household.
There was, of course, speculation that a feud between Kate and Meghan was behind the household split, but the two women seemed friendly at this March event. The following month, she and Harry relocated to Frogmore Cottage in Windsor after more than a year of living close to the Cambridges at Kensington Palace.
July 2019
Not long after giving birth to son Archie, Meghan joined her sister-in-law and the Cambridge children for a day out at the polo. Their attendance was low-key, but the two women seemed to be friendly as they stood on the sidelines with their youngest children while Harry and William played polo.
July 2019
Kate and Meghan also returned to Wimbledon in 2019 looking happier than ever. They were photographed whispering to one another and giggling at the event, and it really seemed like their friendship was on the up and up.
January 2020
At the start of 2020, Harry and Meghan announced their plans to leave the monarchy. Many took this as proof of a feud between Kate and Meghan (or Harry and William), calling it the fallout of months of division between the couples.
In statements at the time, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex simply said they wanted to step back and focus on a more private life with their young family.
March 2020
In March, the Sussexes attended their final event as senior royals alongside William and Kate. Though Meghan was snapped waving to Kate as she arrived, there was limited interaction between the two women.
Many outlets claimed there was tension between them, and any interactions from Kate were “frosty.”
March 2021
This year, Meghan set the record straight on the rumour about her and Kate arguing over Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress at her 2018 wedding. The Duchess of Sussex confirmed to Oprah Winfrey that there was a conflict, but claimed it was actually Kate who left her in tears at one dress fitting.
“But she owned it, and she apologised, and she brought me flowers and a note apologising. And I’ve forgiven her,” Meghan said of the moment. She was also quick to call Kate a “good person” and say that people shouldn’t pit the two of them against one another. The clash was reportedly over whether or not the bridesmaids should wear stockings with their outfits.
August 2021
More than a year after Harry and Meghan left the monarchy, there’s talk that the two duchesses are working on rekindling their friendship. Following the birth of Meghan’s daughter, Kate said she was excited to meet her new niece, and the two mums have supposedly been in contact.
“Meghan and Kate are actually getting along really well and have been in touch more often,” an insider told Us Weekly. “Meghan and Kate’s relationship was never that close. And now they’re closer than ever and working on their relationship for the sake of the family.”
