Kate Middleton has quietly found a new royal ally in Harriet Sperling, the NHS nurse who married Peter Phillips in the Cotswolds last week, with insiders claiming the Princess of Wales has confided in her about the continuing rift with Meghan Markle and Prince Harry.
According to a report, Kate has grown close to Harriet following the wedding, seeing in her a calm, grounded presence at a time when family tensions remain stubbornly unresolved. The deep freeze between the Sussexes and the Waleses has hung over the monarchy since Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties and moved to the US. Hopes that the two couples might forge a strong partnership faded years ago, with a string of highly publicised grievances instead defining their relationship.
