The Princess of Wales had reservations about her future sister-in-law Meghan from the start, according to a royal expert, while William suspected she had an ‘agenda’

It’s no secret that the Princess of Wales and Meghan Markle aren’t close. Over the years, the rift between their husbands has further widened the growing gulf between them, with the Sussexes now all but estranged from William, Kate, and the rest of the royal family.

And it seems the two women were never destined to forge a tight bond. According to a royal expert, the Princess had reservations about Meghan from their very first introduction. In his explosive book, Battle of the Brothers, author Robert Lacey – historical consultant to The Crown – claims that William suspected Meghan was ‘hostile’ to the royal system and that she had an “agenda”, while his wife “had been wary of Meghan from the start”.

Kate and Meghan first met in 2017, when William and Kate visited for dinner. While Meghan described the Princess as “wonderful” during her engagement interview with Harry, she later revealed that their initial introduction had been awkward.

Speaking on their Netflix series, Meghan said: “Even when Will and Kate came over, and I had met her for the first time… They came for dinner, I remember I was in ripped jeans and I was barefoot. I was a hugger, always been a hugger. I didn’t realise that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.”

She continued: “I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside. That there is a forward-facing way of being, and then you close the door and you go, ‘Oh, great. Okay, we can relax now.’ But that formality carries over on both sides, and that was surprising to me.”

In his controversial 2023 memoir, Spare, Harry expanded on Meghan’s account of her first meeting with Kate, describing how both she and William had seemed to like his future wife after introducing them at dinner.

“We’d had them over for dinner during one of Meg’s visits, and Meg cooked, and everything was good,” he wrote. “Willy had a cold: he was sneezing and coughing, and Meg ran upstairs to get him some of her homeopathic cure-alls. Oregano oil, turmeric.

He seemed charmed, moved, though Kate announced to the table that he’d never take such unconventional remedies.” Harry added: “The only possibly discordant note I could think of was the marked difference in how the two women dressed, which both of them seemed to notice,” he said. “Meg: ripped jeans, barefoot. Kate: done up to the nines. No big deal, I thought.”