Yahoo Finance New Book Shines Light On Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle: They Weren't 'At War'
Royal insiders Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand document the relationship between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton in their forthcoming book, “Finding Freedom,” out August 11.
According to an excerpt from the book ― serialized by the British newspaper The Times over the weekend ― the authors insist that despite persistent feud rumors, the two women weren’t actually “at war with each other,” though they weren’t the “best of friends” either.
“At the outset of her romance with Harry, Meghan had fully expected Kate to reach out and give her the lie of the land on everything an outsider to the Firm needed to know,” the passage claims.
“But that was not how things turned out. Meghan was disappointed that she and Kate hadn’t bonded over the position they shared, but she wasn’t losing sleep over it,” the excerpt continues. “According to a source, Kate felt they didn’t have much in common ‘other than the fact that they lived at Kensington Palace.’”
While the Duchess of Cambridge reached out and sent Meghan flowers for her birthday, the book claims that the Duchess of Sussex “would far rather have had Kate check in on her during the most difficult times with the press.”
The excerpt says rumors of the “dueling duchesses” started when it was announced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were relocating to Frogmore Cottage at Windsor Castle. The palaces then refused to correct or comment on reports that the move was because of Meghan and Kate’s relationship.
“Finding Freedom” also explores Prince Harry and Prince William’s relationship, which became strained after the Duke of Cambridge reportedly questioned the pace of his brother’s courtship with Meghan.
As the strain widened, “Kate did little to bridge the divide” between the brothers, though the book notes that “it was not necessarily her responsibility.”
Kensington Palace had no comment when reached on Monday.
A spokesperson for the Sussexes said in a statement to HuffPost that the couple did not participate in the book.
“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to ‘Finding Freedom,‘” the statement said. “This book is based on the authors’ own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting.”
The book, which comes out next month, promises it will go “beyond the headlines to reveal unknown details of Harry and Meghan’s life together, dispelling the many rumors and misconceptions that plague the couple on both sides of the pond.”
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This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
