Kate Middleton "Didn't Have Energy to Bond" With Meghan Markle

london, england july 14 catherine, duchess of cambridge and meghan, duchess of sussex attend day twelve of the wimbledon tennis championships at the all england lawn tennis and croquet club on july 14, 2018 in london, england photo by karwai tangwireimage

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 18 October 2021

So we all know Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle aren't the best of friends by now, but according to a royal biographer, Middleton had kind of a legit reason for not being super present for Markle ahead of her wedding to Prince Harry: She had her pregnancy with Prince Louis to worry about.

Explaining why the two duchesses weren't really set up to be close to each other, Andrew Morton, author of Meghan: A Hollywood Princess, wrote, "Kate and Meghan were neither sisters nor, unlike Fergie and Diana, friends before they joined the Royal Family" (via The Sun).

"What is more, during the build-up to Meghan’s wedding, Kate was experiencing her third difficult pregnancy and was focused on her own welfare," Morton added. "She did not have much energy to bond with her new neighbour."

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While we don't know how cordial the few interactions the women did have were, it only makes sense for Middleton to pay close attention to her own health during that time. She suffered from hyperemesis gravidarum—defined as a pregnancy complication "that affects various areas of the woman’s health, including homeostasis, electrolytes, and kidney function, and may have adverse fetal consequences"—during all three of her pregnancies. Louis was born just weeks before the Sussexes' wedding in May 2018.

"When they sat together in the royal box to watch the Ladies’ Singles Final at Wimbledon in July 2018, the two women were still getting to know one another," Morton said.

And here's another pretty ironclad reason why the now-sisters-in-law didn't really get to hang out during that time. "It was a practical matter as much as anything," the author continued. "Kate spent weekends and holidays at Anmer Hall, the Cambridges’ country home in Norfolk, while Meghan and Harry were approximately three hours’ drive away, living in a large, remote, rented property on the Great Tew estate in Oxfordshire."

Morton previously empathized with Markle, saying that she must have felt "frustrated" by royal life. He also claimed that Prince William's "alleged bullying" pushed Markle and her husband to leave the UK.

This article has been updated.

Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.