

Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!
Thank you for signing up to Marie Claire. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Tom Bower’s new book, Revenge: Meghan, Harry, and the War Between the Windsors details a tough conversation between brothers Prince William and Prince Harry about the relationship between their respective wives, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle.
According to The Mirror, the book claims that Harry, while he and Meghan were preparing for their official visit to Australia and New Zealand in 2018, told William that Kate should be “friendlier to his wife.”
“Members of their family, said Harry, were not showing her [Meghan] sufficient support, respect, or friendship,” Bower writes. “Meghan, Harry believed, should be just as appreciated as their mother [Princess Diana].”
Not totally shockingly, the conversation did not go over well.
“William’s reply was not sympathetic,” Bower writes.
By the latter half of 2018, the brothers were already at odds and had been for some time. But Bower writes, “beyond the palaces, few were aware of the split between the brothers.” After all, William had just served as his younger brother’s best man at his wedding just a few months prior in May 2018.
It was in the leadup to that wedding that the “who made who cry” drama between Kate and Meghan happened, reportedly at a bridesmaid dress fitting. The media alleged Meghan made Kate cry; during her March 2021 explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, Meghan said the reverse happened.
Bower’s book contains new details about the altercation, in which he alleges that the two fell out over whether Kate’s daughter Princess Charlotte should wear tights and if the dress fit properly.
Another veteran royal biographer, Andrew Morton, wrote in his book Meghan: A Hollywood Princess that Kate didn’t have “much energy” to bond with Meghan in the months before the wedding, as she was experiencing a difficult pregnancy with her youngest child, Prince Louis, who was born less than a month before Meghan’s wedding. (Louis was born on April 23, 2018; the wedding was on May 19 of the same year.)
Meghan has said she has forgiven Kate and, speaking to Oprah, said Kate is a “good person” and that Kate sent her flowers to apologize for the incident. Meghan didn’t directly address what caused the spat—only that it happened.
Marie Claire Newsletter
Celebrity news, beauty, fashion advice, and fascinating features, delivered straight to your inbox!

Rachel Burchfield is a writer, editor, and podcaster whose primary interests are fashion and beauty, society and culture, and, most especially, the British Royal Family and other royal families around the world. She serves as Marie Claire’s Senior Celebrity and Royals Editor and has also contributed to publications like Allure, Cosmopolitan, Elle, Glamour, Harper’s Bazaar, InStyle, People, Vanity Fair, Vogue, and W, among others. Before taking on her current role with Marie Claire, Rachel served as its Weekend Editor and later Royals Editor. She is the cohost of Podcast Royal, a show that was named a top five royal podcast by The New York Times. A voracious reader and lover of books, Rachel also hosts I’d Rather Be Reading, which spotlights the best current nonfiction books hitting the market and interviews the authors of them. Rachel frequently appears as a media commentator, and she or her work has appeared on outlets like NBC’s Today Show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, and more.
-
Inside One of the Most Exclusive and Dazzling Health Spas in the U.S.
The Golden Door in Southern California costs tens of thousands of dollars for a weeklong stay—and donates 100 percent of its proceeds to nonprofits.
By Michelle Stansbury
-
Kendall Jenner’s Hair at the Schiaparelli Fashion Show Was Easily Six Inches Tall
The model and 818 founder closed the runway.
By Samantha Holender
-
Red Is the Color for Fall Fashion, But It Also Belongs in Your Makeup Routine
Red lipstick is just the beginning.
By Emma Walsh
-
Princess Kate Has Had to Find New Royals to "Confide" In After Sussex Departure, Says Expert
She has a lot in common with Duchess Sophie.
By Iris Goldsztajn
-
Prince William and Prince Harry Rift: "Happy Families Are Not a Game That Everyone Can Play," Says Expert
Yeesh.
By Iris Goldsztajn
-
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Not Having a U.K. Home Base "Isn't Overly Helpful," Source Says
I can see that.
By Iris Goldsztajn
-
Prince Harry "Snapped King Charles' Olive Branch in Half," Says Commentator
Eek.
By Iris Goldsztajn
-
Prince William and Princess Kate Literally Face the Same Woe as Every Other Parent
They may be royalty, but kids are kids.
By Rachel Burchfield
-
Royal Expert Says Prince Harry Turned Down King Charles’ Invitation to Join Him at Balmoral
“For Harry, this was a missed opportunity.”
By Rachel Burchfield
-
Princess Kate Appears More Confident Than Prince William When on Appearances Without the Other, Body Language Expert Says
It’s the same pattern with King Charles and Queen Camilla, too.
By Rachel Burchfield
-
Meghan Markle is a Huge Fan of This Academy-Award Winning Actress—and Apparently Really Wants to Work With Her
Good news? The admiration is mutual.
By Rachel Burchfield