Anyone who knows the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, knows her role as a mother, aunt and her work as an early childhood campaigner is central to who she is.
And sources say Meghan Sussex nee Markle, knows this all to well with a recent video of Meghan’s facing backlash online with claims that it could be a subtle dig at Kate Middleton.
To promote the release of With Love, Meghan, the actress, 43, shared a glimpse of her three-year-old daughter Lilibet enjoying a play date with tennis player and Meghan’s close friend Serena Williams.
RENT-A-FAMILY
Dressed in an adorable pink floral outfit with her long auburn hair on display, the video shows Lili playing Candy Land with Serena at the Sussex’s Montecito mansion.
“When the aunties comes to celebrate … and to play! Love you @serenawilliams,” Meghan captioned the video.
Now, some suspect that the footage could be a well-timed jibe at her estranged sister-in-law, Kate.
“There was an inevitability about Meghan one day including the children in her social media posts, despite her cries for privacy, and now that day’s arrived and we’re getting glimpses of Archie and Lili, she’s using it to full effect,” says an insider.
“Meghan knows her biggest ‘cards’ left to play are the children and it’s no coincidence this is happening at the same time Kate’s re-emerging onto the scene.
“If there’s one thing Meghan knows, it’s that Kate was passionate about being a special aunt to Archie when he was born and couldn’t hide her tears of joy when Meghan revealed her second pregnancy.
Before things started to go wrong, Meghan and Kate would talk endlessly about their children growing up together.”
ESTRANGED FROM LILI
An insider says Meghan giving the world such a rare sneak peek into her kids’ lives will bring up painful feelings for Kate who hates being estranged from her niece and nephew.
“Having Serena play the perfect “auntie” and Meghan taking her out for a swish lunch, which she knows will cause a stir in the media, is what she and Kate were supposed to be doing. And while there’s no doubt Kate’s not upset about missing luncheons with Meghan, seeing her beautiful “Harry look-alike” niece playing with a Rent-An-Aunt will be tugging at her heartstrings.”
A royal insider confirms, “It’s true this will have been tough on Kate. She hardly got to spend any time with Lilibet when Meghan and Harry brought her to meet the Queen and by that time, things were getting frosty between William and Harry. So Lili’s always been an intriguing mystery for Kate.
“Meghan’s video is another reminder for Kate that she’ll never play a part in Lili’s life. It’s an extraordinary situation – some suspect she is banned from seeing her own niece and darling nephew, who she seriously bonded with when he was a baby. Now he won’t even remember her.”
The one positive from Meghan’s latest move is that it has made Kate even more determined to strengthen the relationship between her own children, George, 11, Charlotte, nine, and Louis, six.
“Kate is incredibly close to her brother James and sister Pippa and she doesn’t want her kids to go through the same hell William’s had to with his sibling – or what she has gone through with Meghan.”
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