One of the most controversial and talked-about events during Meghan’s time in Britain was the allegation that she had made sister-in-law and Duchess of Cambridge, Kate, cry before her wedding.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, Prince Harry and Meghan, have been in the news for the past week after their two-hour long explosive interview with American talkshow host Oprah Winfrey where they talked about what forced them to quit royal life. Their interview, which dropped one truth bomb after another, revealed details about how racism and mistreatment of the Duchess by the other royals drew the family out of Britain. Markle, who is African American, says her husband Prince Harry revealed his family’s concerns over Archie’s skin tone, as well as the security he would be entitled to, ahead of his birth on May 6, 2019.
One of the most controversial and talked-about events during Meghan’s brief stint as a royal was the allegation that she had made sister-in-law and Duchess of Cambridge, Kate, cry before her wedding. A few years ago, headlines on how Meghan had thrown a tantrum that made Kate cry before the former’s wedding were strewn across tabloids and UK media. But as Meghan revealed, the allegations were false and it was actually the other way around.
Meghan called the claim — pored over at length by the gossip press — “a turning point” in her relations with the royal family. “Everyone in the institution knew it wasn’t true,” Meghan said, adding: “The reverse happened.”
Kate “was upset about something, but she owned it, and she apologised,” Meghan said. “A few days before the wedding, she was upset about something pertaining — yes, the issue was correct — about flower girl dresses, and it made me cry, and it really hurt my feelings.”
Meghan called the incident “the beginning of a real character assassination.” “I came to understand that not only was I not being protected, but that they were willing to lie to protect other members of the family,” she said.
And now, an email has surfaced which shows Meghan requesting the royal family to correct the narrative around the incident. On March 10, royal reporter Omid Scobie published an opinion piece for Harper’s Bazaar where he claimed that he had evidence of the same.
In 2020, Kensington Palace reportedly asked Prince Harry to sign a statement that refuted claims that his brother, William, had bullied the Sussexes into quitting royal life. Meghan had then sent an email to an aide saying that this would be the right time to set the record straight about her not making Kate cry. But the Palace had ignored her suggestion and said that Kate should not be dragged into “idle gossip.”
Meghan finally got a chance to tell her side of the story at Oprah’s interview.
The interview not only shed light on why Meghan and Harry decided to step away from royal life but also problems within the monarchy itself. Their interview divided people around the world on Monday, rocking an institution that is struggling to modernize with claims of racism and callousness toward a woman struggling with suicidal thoughts. Harry also revealed the problems had ruptured relations with his father, Prince Charles, and brother, Prince William, illuminating the depth of the family divisions that led the couple to step away from royal duties and move to California last year.
