You don’t have to be a royal expert to tell that Prince Harry has been feeling pretty lonely lately. Sure, he has Meghan Markle on his side, but moving to America with her has seemingly alienated him from the Royal Family to the point that only his cousin Eugene has bothered to come and visit.
Recently, there were reports that Prince Harry was speaking to Kate Middleton by telephone, making her Harry’s lifeline back to the Royal Family. Another insider, though, has come forward to claim that Harry wouldn’t be regularly talking to Kate for the simple reason that he doesn’t have Meghan’s permission to do so.
Is Meghan keeping Harry on a tight leash, and what does all this mean for the prince’s relationship with William and Kate? Keep reading to discover the answers!
Harry and Kate were once very tight
These days, distance isn’t the only thing separating Harry from Prince William and Kate Middleton. They’ve been having a protracted falling out since before Harry married Meghan, and the events of “Megxit” and Harry’s new habit of constantly gossiping about the Royal Family only made things worse.
Before Meghan, though, and especially after Kate was new to the Royal Family, Harry was very tight with his brother and sister-in-law. In those days, Harry and William had a close and playful relationship, and it seems that Harry wasted no time bringing Kate into that bond. According to Showbiz Cheat Sheet, the trio often went to various events together, and onlookers were always struck by how close Harry and Kate seemed. For example, when looking at Harry and Kate cracking each other up in 2008 at St. George’s Chapel, it would be easy to think these two were biological siblings rather than in-laws.
Unfortunately, that trio is no longer nearly as tight as they once were. But depending on who you talk to, Harry’s closeness with Kate herself may have never really gone away.
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Rumors of Harry needing Kate’s shoulder to cry on
Recently, a source made a rather explosive claim to The Mirror. According to a source with alleged insider knowledge, Kate has been engaging in “late-night calls” with the black sheep prince, and she hopes to “pave the way for long-term peace with the whole family.”
Aside from the close bond they once shared, why would Kate be the specific royal that Harry could confide in? The source claims that William (who might otherwise have been the logical family contact) “made it very clear that he is not yet ready to sit down with Harry” but that Kate, as a soft touch, “feels very sorry for him right now. Seeing him go through all these setbacks is very difficult to witness and it tugs at her heartstrings.”
These setbacks include Harry and Meghan’s lucrative Spotify deal falling through, with a prominent Spotify producer going so far as to call these two “f******* grifters.” The source claims Kate has reassured Harry these are merely “temporary setbacks” and that “It means an awful lot to Harry that she continues to show support and especially during desperate times like this.”
Meghan keeps Harry on a tight leash?
It’s tough to deny that the idea of Kate being the bigger woman and offering Harry both forgiveness and support makes for a great story. However, another royal expert thinks that’s all this is: a story.
As reported by The New York Post, royal expert Kinsey Schofield thinks that the earlier stories of Kate consoling Harry via late-night phone calls are false. Cutting right to the point, Schofield stated, “I personally don’t believe that Harry would speak to Catherine privately without Meghan’s blessing.”
While that is more Schofield’s gut feeling than anything else, this does seem on track with what we know about Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton. For example, an early rumor that gained serious traction claimed that leading up to her own wedding ceremony, Meghan Markle made Kate Middleton cry while trying on dresses. Meghan would later claim that it was the other way around and that it was actually Kate who made her cry.
Either that, it seems there may be no love lost between the two women, especially after the Oprah interview. And it is quite difficult to imagine Meghan being cool with Harry going behind her back and talking to the woman who may very well hate her, even though (or perhaps especially because) Harry once saw Kate as one of his best friends.
RELATED: Kate Middleton Taking Her Feud With Meghan Markle To The Next Level?
It all goes back to that infamous Oprah interview
Since stepping down from being working royals and fleeing England, Meghan and especially Harry have done a number of things to upset the Royal Family. This includes spilling a bit of tea in the Harry & Meghan Netflix docuseries and spilling entire gallons of tea in Harry’s memoir Spare. However, according to one royal insider, it was actually Harry and Meghan’s infamous interview with Oprah that may have destroyed Harry’s relationship with Kate Middleton.
This unnamed family insider claimed to OK! magazine that “Kate has drawn a hard line in the sand — she’s not changing her mind about them. They never apologized for their lies.” On top of what Kate would consider outright lies, the source claims that when Harry and Meghan shared a personal story about the future Queen of England, Kate considered it “the ultimate betrayal” and now feels “The wounds are just too deep to be easily healed.”
Interestingly, this insider claims that Kate’s concerns go beyond feeling personally betrayed: she allegedly considers Harry something of a wildcard and potential liability. Kate “feels that Harry and especially Meghan have done enough damage to the royal family, and will do even more damage if they’re let back in.” Honestly, given how much trash Harry talks about his family whenever a camera is on or he needs to sign another media deal, we can’t exactly disagree with Kate’s assessment!