Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, will not publicly discuss her relationship with Meghan Markle or address rumors of a rift between them, according to royal historian Tessa Dunlop. The Duchess of Sussex participated in various public events with Middleton before she and Prince Harry stepped down from their roles as senior royals in 2020.
Dunlop told OK! magazine that the relationship between Markle and Middleton is "frosty, but it's polite" at present. International Business Times could not independently confirm these claims. Dunlop suggested that the two women were never close before the Sussexes' departure, and the physical distance since their move to California likely did not help build a stronger bond between them.
Dunlop told the outlet, "They are clearly not that close. I think we can work that one out." She believes Middleton will not publicly share her side of the story regarding her relationship with Markle. "Kate is a well-mannered girl. She got brought up in a public school. She's never going to dish the dirt, she's never going to give what others want, no matter how often you pick the scab," Dunlop asserted. "There's going to be a lid on that relationship, and it will remain decorous in public."
During her 2021 interview with Oprah Winfrey, Markle addressed the alleged feud with Middleton, claiming that the reported incident of making the Duchess of Cambridge cry before Markle's wedding to Prince Harry was false and that "the reverse happened." Middleton has not publicly responded to these claims and continues to adhere to Queen Elizabeth II's unofficial "never complain, never explain" motto.
Dunlop previously described Middleton and Markle as "inverted versions of each other" in an interview with OK!. She explained that Middleton's values include deference, appropriate levels of self-possession within a system, and not rocking the boat.
In contrast, Markle's approach is the reverse. The author of "Elizabeth and Philip: A Story of Young Love, Marriage and Monarchy" highlighted that Middleton, who was raised in Buckinghamshire and attended St. Andrews University, "spent years training" for her future role as queen "without even realizing it."
Markle, on the other hand, had a different upbringing and spent time in Hollywood. "Meghan comes from Hollywood. Her dad was a reasonably successful lighting director," Dunlop said. "But it's a very different environment. Hollywood is about climbing over other people to get that role, to get the gig, to improve the rating to be better than the next one -- that's ambition. But Meghan came from the outside, a hostile culture, and it [royal life] must have seemed quite alien."