The Truth About Kate Middleton's Relationship With Meghan Markle

An established British princess, envied for her posh style and dedication to children's causes and the American upstart making a play for her crown. 

Not the actual one, of course. As Prince William's wife, Kate Middleton is destined for a future as queen consort while Meghan Markle will always be a rung below in the pecking order with Prince Harry currently sixth in line for the throne and set to slide down as his niece and nephews begin families of their own. 

But the California-bred former actress has challenged her sister-in-law for more than a few titles: Most Intriguing Duchess, Biggest Royal Influencer, Best Use of Designer Fashions, Bounciest Blowout... 

So of course they would be placed at odds with one another. At least, by those on the outside looking in. 

"Women, in particular, are constantly pitted against and compared with each other in a way that reminds me of how people tried to portray Diana and me all the time as rivals, which is something neither of us ever really felt," Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, wrote in a February essay published by Hello! 

Though Prince Andrew's ex wife doesn't explicitly name Meghan or Kate, the clear implication is that she's commenting on the continued saga of a war between the duchesses. 

The difference here, though, is that while Fergie and Princess Diana did have some dark periods—"It is true that our friendship was periodically strained," Fergie wrote in her 2011 book Finding Sarah. "Sadly, at the end, we hadn't spoken for a year,"—Meghan and Kate haven't so much as looked cross with one another in public. The whole of their supposed feud can be broken down to a lot of assumptions (surely Kate bristled at the idea of being upstaged by a new, charismatic, designer label-wearing royal) and rumors of shouting matches that have been shot down by the palace. 

And to hear royal insiders tell it, not only is the rivalry not real, it's muffling the true issues between the Cambridges and the Sussexes, which are largely more interesting than the fiction. As filmmaker Nick Bullen recently revealed it was the actually the brothers who have been having a bit of a squabble of late as siblings are wont to do from time to time.





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