A not-so-fab foursome. Prince Harry recounted a tense meeting with Prince William and Princess Kate following his May 2018 wedding to Meghan Markle in his bombshell memoir, Spare.
The Duke of Sussex, 38, wrote that William and Kate, both 40, invited him and Meghan, 41, over for tea one month after the nuptials “to clear the air” about any perceived drama between them. When the newlyweds walked into William and Kate’s home, Harry recalled marveling at the “lavishly” renovated design — and “sheepishly” comparing it to his and Meghan’s own “discount” decor.
The couples spent a few minutes on “classic small talk” about William and Kate’s children — Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis — before getting into the nitty-gritty. According to Harry, the “Archetypes” podcast host was the first to speak up and suggest that she and Kate may have “got off on the wrong foot” long before the wedding.
During the afternoon sit-down, Meghan mentioned a past “misunderstanding” about her possibly wanting to use Kate’s fashion contacts, despite already having her own connections. However, the real tension began to brew over bridesmaids dresses.
Elsewhere in his book, Harry detailed the argument Kate and Meghan had over Charlotte’s bridesmaids dress days before the wedding. The former military pilot claimed that the “back and forth” — which allegedly included Kate demanding that the frock be remade — left Meghan in tears.
“Indeed the next morning Kate came by with flowers and a card that said she was sorry,” Harry pointed out.
The Deal or No Deal alum previously described the confrontation during her and Harry’s March 2021 CBS interview, recalling the U.K. tabloid “narrative” that she was the one who made Kate cry. “That was a turning point,” Meghan claimed.
Since their 2020 step down from their senior royal duties, Harry and the former lifestyle blogger have been candid about their challenges — and their rocky relationships with the other royals. In Spare, the prince goes so far as to refer to William as both his “beloved brother” and his “archnemesis.”
Harry is set to share his side of the story during two televised interviews — with 60 Minutes and the U.K.’s ITV — on Sunday, January 8. Despite their highs and lows, the Invictus Games founder hinted in a sneak peek from one sit-down that he hoped to heal the family rift.
“They’ve shown absolutely no willingness to reconcile,” he claimed in the ITV teaser. “I would like to get my father back. I would like to have my brother back.”
Spare hits shelves on Tuesday, January 10. Keep scrolling for a breakdown of the June 2018 meeting: