Long before she joined the Royal Family, Meghan Markle was a longtime admirer of Kate Middleton (even writing a blog post in 2014 detailing “the endless conversation surrounding Princess Kate”). But when the two would finally meet, things wouldn’t go as smoothly as the former senior royal would have hoped.
Prior to Meghan and Prince Harry’s decision to step back from their duties as working royals, there were bumps in the road for the sisters-in-law. In their best-selling royal biography, Finding Freedom: Harry, Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand revealed that Meghan was faced with a let-down right away, when her future sister-in-law Kate Middleton wasn’t there for her first introduction to the royal family.
Meghan’s first introduction to other members of the firm was an informal tea with Prince Charles and Prince William, and Kate “just couldn’t make it”, apparently.
“Meghan was disappointed she didn’t get to meet Kate, who was with the children at Anmer Hall, the couple’s Norfolk estate home near Sandringham,” Scobie and Durand wrote, according to Page Six. “But having gotten along so well with Harry’s brother, she didn’t think much more about that. William had made his feelings known to his brother when he shared how happy he was to see Harry smiling.”
The two would eventually go on to form a close friendship, attending Wimbledon matches together and official engagements.