Looking back, “Megxit” is still one of the wildest events in royal history. Nobody expected Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to step down as working royals, and their decision to leave England and eventually settle in America left everyone flabbergasted. Nobody was more surprised, in fact, than the rest of the Royal Family.
Much has been made of how Harry’s relationship with Meghan hurt his relationship with his brother, William. What most people don’t know, however, is how profoundly Harry’s decision affected Kate Middleton. To understand more of Megxit’s most unexpected effect, keep reading to discover secrets about Harry and Kate’s early relationship!
Harry was eager to introduce Kate and Meghan
Kate Middleton’s contentious relationship with Meghan Markle is well known. The world was treated to some ugly tabloid headlines making claims that Meghan turned prima donna and made Kate cry in the lead-up to the big wedding ceremony. Later, Meghan told Oprah Winfrey that it was the other way around and that it was Kate who made the royal newcomer burst into tears.
In a bitter bit of irony, Harry later revealed in his memoir Spare how much he was eager to introduce Meghan to both Kate and William. As reported by Page Six, Harry had a longstanding dream to join with his married brother and “to join them with an equal partner. To become a foursome.” In turn, Kate and William were both fans of Suits, so they were excited to hear that Harry was dating one of its stars.
Unfortunately, the first impression didn’t go very well. Kate was weirded out when Meghan hugged her, and William wigged out when Meghan offered him a homeopathic home remedy. Right from the beginning, it was clear Meghan would have trouble fitting into this very formal world.
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A happy trio of royal workers
Before Meghan broke them up like Yoko did with the Beatles, Harry, William, and Kate were a very tight trio. They weren’t just family members who saw each other at the occasional function…they were, in fact, allies who often worked together to achieve common goals.
A great example of this is their 2016 Heads Together campaign, where each royal went out of their way to promote mental health. This was something of a big deal at the time because the Royal Family has always been a bit shy about discussing personal issues openly (something Meghan can attest to after her own struggles with mental health).
This royal team got to see some very personal results of their efforts. Eventually, James Middleton (Kate’s brother) wrote an essay in The Daily Mail about his own mental health struggles. He said that he felt “compelled to talk about it openly because this is precisely what my brother-in-law Prince William, my sister Catherine and Prince Harry are advocating.” Sadly, after Megxit, it looks like this terrific trio may never work together again.
A real brother/sister relationship
Even when it doesn’t involve a famous family of royals, accepting a new member into the family can be fairly difficult. In retrospect, part of what made Kate’s marriage to William such a success is that Harry almost immediately saw Kate as more of a sister rather than just another in-law.
As the Mirror reports, this is something Harry wrote about very openly in his memoir. “I loved my new sister-in-law, I felt she was more sister than in-law, the sister I’d never had and always wanted,” he said, “And I was pleased that she’d forever be standing by Willy’s side.” He went on to describe how he was good at making her laugh: “my transparently silly side connected with her heavily disguised silly side.”
Sadly, there is nothing more transparent these days than the fact that their sibling relationship has been fundamentally ruined.
RELATED: Is Meghan Markle Secretly Keeping Harry From Speaking To Kate Middleton?
Harry wanted Kate to have Diana’s engagement ring
Perhaps nothing can underscore how much Prince Harry cared about Kate Middleton than the fact that the prince gave her his mother’s old engagement ring. After the death of Princess Diana, her children were allowed to pick personal keepsakes from her famous jewelry collection. Harry chose the blue sapphire engagement ring that had once captivated the entire world during Diana’s disastrous marriage to Charles.
Years later, William was getting serious about his relationship with Kate and getting ready to propose to her. Harry gave his older brother his mother’s sapphire ring so that William could use it when proposing. As reported by SheKnows, Harry would not have done that for anyone but Kate, and he jokingly told his brother that ”If it was any other girl,” he wouldn’t have done it.
Considering how close Harry was to his mother, making sure that her old ring ended up on Kate Middleton’s finger shows how much he once loved his brother’s wife. Only time will tell if the effects of Megxit are ever reversed and Harry’s close relationship with Kate will ever be restored.