Prince Harry has shared details of the alleged feud between his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and his sister-in-law Kate, the Princess of Wales, in his new memoir, Spare.
In the book, which is slated for release on 10 January, the Duke of Sussex is reported to recall an incident that took place in the lead-up to his and Meghan’s royal wedding in May 2018. The incident centres on the Duchess of Sussex allegedly telling Kate she must be suffering from “baby brain because of her hormones”, according to the Daily Mail, which cites a “well-placed source” in relation to the details of the memoir.
Kate gave birth to Prince Louis, her and Prince William’s youngest child, a month before the royal wedding.
Per the Daily Mail’s source, Prince Harry writes that Meghan was ultimately reprimanded over her comment to Kate, and told that she was not close enough to her future sister-in-law to remark on her hormones. The Duchess of Sussex reportedly became offended as a result.
“In the book, Harry says that there was a discussion about the timing of the wedding rehearsal and the flower girl dresses, and Kate was very upset,” the source said. “Meghan said that Kate must have ‘baby brain’ because of her hormones. It caused a huge row because Meghan was told that she wasn’t close enough to her sister-in-law to discuss her hormones, and it wasn’t the way people spoke to each other within the royal family.”
The book “makes clear that Meghan felt the fall-out wasn’t her fault”, but “doesn’t exactly make her look very good either”, according to the source.
The Mayo Clinic notes that the term “baby brain” often refers to “memory problems, poor concentration, and absent-mindedness reported by many women during pregnancy and early motherhood”, but that research regarding the existence of “baby brain” is mixed.
The insight into the rumoured feud between the two women comes after Meghan opened up about her tense interactions with her sister-in-law in her and Prince Harry’s new Netflix series, Harry & Meghan.
In the docuseries, Meghan claimed that when she first met Kate and William she was in ripped jeans and barefoot, and that she was surprised by the formality of the couple, even behind closed doors.
“I was a hugger. I’ve always been a hugger, I didn’t realise that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits,” she recalled. “I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside.”
The duchess also opened up about her relationship with the Princess of Wales during her and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah Winfrey, during which she clarified that she had not made Kate cry in the lead-up to the royal wedding, as had been reported in the tabloids.
Rather, Meghan said that “the reverse happened”.
“It was a really hard week of the wedding, and she was upset about something. But she owned it, and she apologised, and she brought me flowers and a note apologising,” Meghan recalled. “She did what I would do if I knew that I hurt someone, to just take accountability for it.”
At the time, Meghan said that the issue had stemmed from a disagreement over flower girl dresses, and that it had “made [her] cry”.
In addition to providing insight into the relationship between Meghan and Kate, Prince Harry’s memoir also includes a number of bombshell allegations, such as his claim that William physically attacked him.
“[William] called me another name, then came at me. It all happened so fast. So very fast. He grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor,” Harry writes in the memoir, according to The Guardian.
The outlet claims the alleged incident took place at Nottingham Cottage after William had reportedly described Meghan as “difficult”, “rude” and “abrasive”.
The Independent has contacted representatives for the Prince and Princess of Wales and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex for comment.
