‘Hardest things ever had to do’ Kate Middleton on Windsor walk with Prince Harry, Meghan Markle after Queen's death
5 min read . Updated: 09 Apr 2023, 04:14 PM IST
Premium- A book on the royals claimed that the Windsor walk with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was according to the Princess of Wales one of the hardest things she ever had to do.
After Queen Elizabeth II's death in September, there were talks of reconciliation between Prince Harry and wife Meghan and the rest of the royal family, after a reported rift and their relocation to the United States. Prince Harry and Meghan who were visit to Britain when the queen died, reunited with Harry's brother William and wife Kate at Windsor Castle. It was their first joint public appearance since they moved stateside in early 2020. All were dressed in mourning black and together they looked at the growing banks of flowers left by the public before greeting well-wishers as separate pairs, giving little away about the state of their relations.
Now a book on the royals has claimed that the Windsor walk with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was according to the Princess of Wales “one of the hardest things she ever had to do". The claims were made in Royal commentator Robert Jobson's book titled ‘Our King Charles III: The Man and the Monarch Revealed.’ Sources had told Jobson that the image of unity portrayed during the walk was an illusion.
In the book he wrote, “Catherine later admitted to a senior royal that, such was the ill feeling between the two couples, the joint walkabout was one of the hardest things she'd ever had to do, he writes as quoted by the Dailymail.
In the book, the royal author wrote that walk was suggested by next to the throne Prince William to present a united front after the death of the long-reigning Queen.
Since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, stepped back as "senior" royals in 2020, the rumours of soar relationship with the family surfaced. They had announced that they would work to become financially independent. The couple resides in California, with their two children- Archie Mountbatten-Windsor and Lillibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. Later in 2021 came the Oprah Winfrey interview, where Prince Harry talked about the racist articles written about Meghan and how his family didn't help. The most damaging claim, however, was that an unnamed royal had speculated about the skin colour of mixed-race Meghan's future child.
William reacted later by telling a journalist that the royals were "very much not" a racist family.
Their relationship turned further low after the Netflix documentary Harry and Meghan was released followed by Prince Harry's memoir Spare.
In the documentary, Prince Harry spoke about his relationship with Meghan and said, “She sacrificed everything she ever knew, the freedom that she had, to join me in my world. And then pretty soon after that I ended up sacrificing everything that I know to join her in her world." He also spoke about the Royal commentators and said that "Press pack of royal correspondents is essentially just an extended PR arm of the royal family. On the royal rota system: It's like this family is ours to exploit. Their trauma is our story and our narrative to control." Speaking about the women in the royal family, he said that he had learnt "the pain and suffering of women marrying into this institution". "I remember thinking how can I ever find someone who is willing and capable to be able to withstand all the baggage that comes with being with me." In one of the episode, Meghan also recreated an intimate moment when she met Prince Harry's grandmother Queen Elizabeth II. Markle was seen pointing fun at herself when she curtseyed the longest reigning monarch of British history.
In his book "Spare", Harry divulges that he had begged his father not to marry his second wife Camilla, now the queen consort. In his book, Harry also referred Camilla as "the other lady" and "wicked stepmother".
Apart from this, his book also delivered numerous other revelations, including that elder brother and heir to the throne William had knocked him over during a heated argument. He also used promotional interviews to double down on his claims that some royals, including Camilla and William, and their aides had leaked damaging stories to tabloid papers about him or his American wife Meghan in order to protect themselves or enhance their reputations
He also wrote about Kate's relationship with his wife Meghan. The Suits actress and Harry exchanged vows in May 2018. Days before her wedding, it was widely reported that Meghan had made Kate cry. However, Meghan claimed later on what happened was exactly opposite. In fact, it was Kate who did something that made Meghan cry. She also claimed that Kate had apologised and Meghan forgave her. In the memoir, he had said that both were driven apart by fights over bridesmaid dresses, Easter gifts, and other issues.
Meanwhile, as Prince Charles coronation is around the corner, there has been many speculations if Prince Harry and Meghan would attend the coronation ceremony. Recently a former palace butler claimed that Prince Harry alone will attend his father's coronation ceremony as Meghan Markle isn't brave enough to be there. He also added that he doesn't think Meghan is strong enough to attend the ceremony as he said, “she'd have to look in the eyes of a family she's pushed under the bus."
Another Royal commentator Dr Ed Owens recently told The Express that if Duke and Duchess of Sussex attend the coronation ceremony, "they will have no control over how this event plays out, the Royal Household will have complete control over this event." Another royal expert also claimed that if Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend the King Charles' Coronation, they would turn it into a "soap opera." They said the couple's primary motivation for attending the event would be monetary, and that they would likely film it for profit. "They would film this. They would turn it into some kind of monetary event," royal commentator Neil Sean had told Fox Business