Here’s what royal fans are saying about a resurfaced video of the Duchess of Sussex bringing up a nickname for the Princess of Wales that many didn’t think would ever be uttered again.
After stepping down as working royals, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle aired out some of the famous family’s dirty laundry in TV specials, podcasts, their Netflix docuseries, and the duke’s memoir. One of the interviews that garnered the most headlines was the couple’s sit-down with former talk show host Oprah Winfrey. In it, the Duchess of Sussex brought up the Princess of Wales (formerly known as Kate Middleton).
Now, something Meghan said during the interview that was not shown until after the broadcast initially aired has resurfaced online. The clip has drawn anger directed at the former Suits star because she referenced a rude nickname for Kate.
On March 7, 2021, the Sussexes gave their first TV interview since quitting their royal duties and moving to the U.S. According to Meghan, when she became a favorite target of the press with countless headlines running about her, other family members responded by saying: “Well, this is what’s happened to all of us.”
Meghan then explained to Oprah: “If they can compare the experience of what I went through as similar to what has been shared with us. Kate was called ‘Waity Katie’ waiting to marry William. While I imagine that was hard. And I do; I can’t picture what that felt like. This is not the same. And if a member of this family will comfortably say ‘we’ve all had to deal with things that are rude,’ rude and racist are not the same.”
Meghan was referring to the fact that before marrying Prince William, the British press dubbed his longtime girlfriend “Waity Katie.” The nickname was given due to how long they had been together before getting engaged and implied that Kate was waiting around for William to finally propose.
Royal commentator Richard Fitzwilliams previously told The Mirror: “It was very sensible in the circumstances for Kate and William to get to know each other over the length of time that they felt appropriate. But it can be hurtful seeing those headlines and obviously very stressful.”
A video posted to TikTok in September 2023 titled “Proud to call her our future queen” shows footage from Meghan’s Oprah interview using that “Waity Katie” nickname when talking about her sister-in-law. The 14-second clip then cuts to shots of William’s wife with the text: “Now they call her the future queen.”
The video has been viewed more than 150,000 times and counting. It also has over 30,000 likes and hundreds of comments with many expressing anger at Meghan for bringing up the old nickname.
Commenters called the Duchess of Sussex everything from “shameless” to “classless” to” unbelievable.” Others insisted Meghan always “hated on Kate” and took that “unnecessary dig” because she’s “jealous.”
The majority of the other commenters praised the Princess of Wales and how it paid for her to wait.
“Good things come to those who wait … and it sure has,” one user wrote while another added: “It’s called patience. She did it [with] style and class.”
And as another fan concluded: “Kate had the virtue to WAIT and it was worth it. She deserves all the respect and to be the future queen. She prepared and equipped herself.”
