The Daily Mail is seemingly not embarrassed to continue to fret over every single detail involving the Duchess of Sussex’s brief time in the UK. As we know, Meghan spoke – in a vague way on the Netflix series – about what it was like to meet Prince Harry’s family for the first time. She spoke about how she was surprised that “the formality” carried into the Windsors’ family meetings and dinners, and how she’s an American hugger and that certain people within the family didn’t like any of that. In Spare, Harry pointed out that when he and Meghan invited William and Kate to dinner, Meghan was usually in ripped jeans and barefoot, while Kate was “dressed to the nines.” Well, James Middleton recalls, in his pseudo-memoir, Kate’s introduction to his wife Alizee, and of course James makes Kate sound positively Meghan-esque. From the Daily Mail’s “Kate Middleton’s VERY casual first meeting with her brother James’s wife Alizee – and why it casts doubt on Meghan’s claims about her own introduction to the Princess of Wales.”
Before her relationship with Kate fell apart amid rows over bridesmaids dresses and ‘baby brain’ comments, Meghan Markle has claimed her sister-in-law took against her from the get-go because of her more casual style. Harry’s wife recalled how she was ‘barefoot’ and wearing ripped jeans when she first met Kate and said that the ‘formal’ future Queen, and other members of the Royal Family, found it jarring that she was a ‘hugger’.
However, an intriguing snippet from a new memoir by Kate’s brother James, about the royal being introduced to his now wife, Alizee, for the first time, paints a very different picture of the Princess. He described how Alizee appeared in the kitchen of the Middleton family home with her hair tousled and wearing nothing but his shirt, only to find Kate, William and their three children there.
Far from it being an issue, there was ‘no awkwardness at all’ and by the end of the weekend Kate had given Alizee her seal of approval, telling James the French financier was ‘just great’. It suggests that whatever issues subsequently emerged between Kate and Harry’s wife, Meghan’s penchant for ripped jeans was not the root of the problem.
By contrast, Meghan Markle said there was some awkwardness with Kate straight away when they first met in 2017, and put it down to their very different styles. Meghan recounted in the couple’s Netflix series Harry & Meghan that she was ‘barefoot’ and wearing ripped jeans when she first met Kate. Discussing the meeting, she said she did not know the ‘formality’ the royals display in public continues behind closed doors and that she is a ‘hugger’ – which she did not realise was ‘jarring for some Brits’.
She said: ‘Even when Will and Kate came over and I was meeting her for the first time I remember I was in ripped jeans, I was barefoot. Like I was a hugger, I have always been a hugger I didn’t realise that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.’
‘I started to understand that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside, that there is a forward facing way of being and then you close the door and think “OK we can relax now”. But that formality carries over on both sides and that was surprising to me.’
Gee, I wonder why Kate was more relaxed meeting her brother’s girlfriend in Middleton Manor and not so relaxed meeting her brother-in-law’s new girlfriend in Nottingham Cottage? I wonder if the situations were completely different? Gee, I wonder if race was a factor?? I wonder about other factors too, like whether Kate saw Meghan as competition, and whether Kate was jealous of a beautiful, accomplished American woman? Or perhaps Kate was jealous of her cute brother-in-law’s obvious devotion to Meghan? We will truly never know!!
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Instar, Backgrid.