Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle were apparently never very close, and, according to royal reporter Omid Scobie’s new book Endgame, are not likely to reconcile following Meghan and Prince Harry’s exit from their working royal family roles.
Scobie detailed why their relationship is the way it is, along with why Kate is not likely to become close to Harry again either.
Scobie wrote that from the very start, Kate was never interested in pursuing a deep friendship with Meghan. He and royal reporter Carolyn Durand previously reported in Finding Freedom that this was due to the women having little in common.
Scobie wrote in Endgame that Meghan had high hopes for her and Kate initially. “For Meghan, who found much of her time as a working royal a lonely and isolated experience, there was a hope that Kate would be someone she could at least turn to for an encouraging word during her lowest points, including her emotional difficulties during her pregnancy,” Scobie shared. “Kate, however, was uninterested in forming this kind of bond with Meghan.”
A source who worked with Kate in the past told Scobie, “She can be cold if she doesn’t like someone,” and that she “wasn’t a fan” of Meghan and never had been.
A separate source told Scobie, “She spent more time talking about Meghan than talking to her.”
Scobie went on to report that “on more recent occasions, Kate has jokingly shivered when Meghan’s name has come up around her, and there has been almost zero direct communication, bar a few short pleasantries, between the pair since late 2019.”
A source who knows the family revealed that Kate doesn’t foresee any reconciliation happening with Harry either. That insider told Scobie, “She was close to Harry, and she will always look back fondly on those moments … and the relationship he had with their children…but to her there is no way she could ever trust them after all their interviews [with Oprah, their Harry & Meghan Netflix series, and Harry’s while promoting his memoir Spare].”
Sources described Meghan and Harry’s departure from their working royal family roles as putting Kate “in the hot seat,” leaving only her and William as the remaining part of the Royal “Fab Four.”
Kate allegedly had a hand in the Palace’s statement response to Harry and Meghan’s Oprah interview too, Scobie reported. A source told him, “She was really passionate about defending the family.”
Senior News and Strategy Editor
Alyssa Bailey is the senior news and strategy editor at ELLE.com, where she oversees coverage of celebrities and royals (particularly Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton). She previously held positions at InStyle and Cosmopolitan. When she’s not working, she loves running around Central Park, making people take #ootd pics of her, and exploring New York City.