Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle never did become BPFs (best princesses forever), and now, it seems that Kate is leaving her sister-in-law behind as she looks toward the future with her husband, Prince William.
While Kate and Meghan’s friendship never fully developed, that doesn’t mean there won’t be a time and place where they can be cordial and get along. However, at this point, it seems that both women are done with the drama that involves the other — especially Kate, according to a close friend.
Kate’s role in the royal family has become one of the biggest. She’s officially the Princess of Wales, but to the royals, she is one of the most important members because of the reputation she has built for herself. But earlier this year, that reputation faced scrutiny when it was revealed that Kate was allegedly one of the royals who expressed concern about Prince Archie’s skin color while Meghan Markle was pregnant with him. Now, though, she’s not having any of it.
“She’s moved on and William has too,” a source close to the couple told People, referring to the years-long rift between William and his younger brother, Prince Harry. “She’s very focused on what matters going forward. They aren’t looking back.”
Beyond that, royal author Valentine Low credits Kate as “strong-willed,” saying that who she is in front of the people isn’t exactly who she is behind the scenes. “She has this public image of being nice and smiley and, dare I say, innocuous … But she is actually strong-minded, strong-willed, and prepared to fight for what she wants and what she thinks is right.
Specifically, Low credited Kate as the one behind the wording when Harry and Meghan told Oprah that royals were questioning Archie’s skin color. “She thought it was very important this did not go unchallenged,” Low said, adding that she “showed real strength and determination” to pass along her own truth.
Kate now stands as the highest-ranking royal woman. After Queen Elizabeth’s passing in September 2022, Kate was made the Princess of Wales, only one step below King Charles’ rank. And while she will technically be the queen consort when Prince William takes the throne, she will almost certainly be known as Queen Catherine — and become just as much of a fixture on the throne as her husband
As a result, she is leaving the past behind — including any drama with Meghan. After the racism revelations hardly tarnished her reputation, it’s clear that it will take a lot to bring Kate down in the eyes of the British public (part of the reasoning behind that could also be that the truth was never fully understood, which sort of leaves those on either side of the rumors at a stalemate).
Kate seems to be fully coming into her own, and Charles and Camilla are sitting back and watching it happen; those close to the king even suggested he wasn’t planning to do much as monarch but rather wanted to focus on setting the stage for William and Kate
