Pool / Contributor
Kate Middleton Reached Out to Meghan Markle to ‘Clear the Air,’ ‘Heal Rift’ After Racism Allegations
Her name was being dragged through the mud again. More than two years after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made the bombshell allegation that a senior royal had racist “concerns and conversations” about “how dark Archie’s skin color might be when he was born” in 2019, the Dutch translation of Omid Scobie’s royal tell-all, Endgame, reportedly named Kate Middleton and King Charles as the offenders.
“It was humiliating for Kate that Harry and Meghan would [allegedly] accuse her of something so horrific,” a royal insider exclusively tells In Touch, noting that the Sussexes have admitted to sharing information with the author in the past. And between this latest public smear and all of the other things her in-laws have said in interviews and in Harry’s memoir, Spare, says the insider, “no one would blame Kate for never speaking to them again.”
And yet in a shocking twist no one saw coming, Kate has done exactly that. “Shortly after the book’s allegations came out, Kate reached out to Meghan to clear the air,” says the insider, adding that the phone call actually came at King Charles’ request.
“This feud has gotten so unseemly and out of hand, it’s starting to overshadow his reign and the entire monarchy. He wants to heal the rift once and for all.”
And because William, 41, is also refusing to speak to Harry, 39, “Charles forced Kate to become his peacemaker,” says the insider.
“She agreed, because when it comes to the royal family, Kate has always taken her duties seriously — she does what she is told.” Even if it means swallowing her pride. Kate, 41, had previously been called out by the Sussexes in an interview for making Meghan, 42, cry before her wedding.
In Spare, Harry alleged that the Princess of Wales “grimaced” when Meghan asked to borrow her lip gloss and snapped at her sister-in-law for daring to mention her pregnancy hormones.
He even suggested Kate was “on edge” about being compared to and competing with Meghan. And in Endgame, Kate is accused of being “cold” toward Meghan and of “shivering” when her sister-in-law’s name is mentioned.
According to Endgame, even though Charles, 75, tried to reassure Meghan in his letters that he meant “no ill will or bias” toward Archie, “Kate has avoided discussing the subject with her sister-in-law. She will never trust them again after all their interviews,” the book states.
The Moment of Truth
But Kate made the call anyway. “Their talk was four years in the making, and obviously it wasn’t easy, because who knows what could end up being leaked from their private conversations?” the insider notes. “But Kate has apologized to Meghan before, and she knew what to say. Her kind words had an impact, and they both got pretty emotional.”
They agreed to a reluctant truce. “They’ll never truly see eye-to-eye, and nothing will change how Meghan feels about the way she has been treated by Kate and the rest of the royals, but Meghan is estranged from her own father, so she knows how tough it’s been on Harry to feel abandoned by his family,” says the insider. “She’s vowed to do what she can to help. Both she and Kate want to start over.”
Unfortunately, their husbands definitely aren’t ready yet — and may never be. “Kate may have grudgingly put the past behind her out of loyalty to the family,” says the insider, “but William can never forgive Harry for the way he’s thrown Kate under the bus.”
The feelings of betrayal are mutual. “Harry is still incredibly hurt by how he has been ostracized by his brother,” says the insider. Harry has publicly demanded an apology from the royal family, “which he isn’t likely to get, especially not from William,” adds the insider.
The future king has been “wanting to distance himself from his brother ever since Harry’s marriage to Meghan, whom [he] took a disliking to from the start,” Endgame reveals, adding that William now considers his brother an “outsider.”
The Next Phase
Other royal sources point out that the current king actually has a strategic need to hit the reset button.
“The monarchy comes first, always has, and if that’s being threatened, there’s a problem. A big problem,” says one source. “The royal family has gotten so much bad press lately, and it mainly stems from the feud between William and Kate and Harry and Meghan.”
Charles is still holding out hope that his sons can at least be civil, royal expert Nick Bullen has said, adding that “the king, more than anybody, wants to repair the relationships. The door is always open.”
Especially now that Kate has extended an olive branch. “She may have been forced to do it,” says the insider, “but in the end, she’s glad she did it. This pettiness has gone on far too long, and if it leads to William and Harry reuniting as brothers, Kate won’t have any regrets. Nor should Meghan have any. Hopefully she wants to see William and Harry reconcile just as much as everyone else.”
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