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The British Royal Family’s ongoing rift with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, who left the fold back in 2020, is showing no signs of slowing down and there seems to be constant back and forth with the family and PR teams on both sides.
While Harry is, seemingly, on more cordial terms with his father, King Charles, tensions with Prince William and Kate Middleton seem to be worse than ever. The brothers are reportedly not on speaking terms and seem to be doing everything in their power to avoid one another. While their issues reportedly began as early as 2018, following the releases of the couple’s docuseries and Harry’s tell-all memoir Spare, things became almost irreparable.
Harry and Meghan shared copious never-before-heard details on royal life and hough some stories, like the NSFW story of Harry losing his virginity, didn’t really impact the rest of the British royal family, many others absolutely did. Among the shocking revelations were Harry and Prince William’s physical confrontation over Markle, Harry’s feelings about Queen Consort Camilla following Princess Diana‘s death and the distasteful jokes King Charles would often make about not being Harry’s biological father. No matter how headline-making the revelations were, however, the British family remained quiet throughout the drama.
According to Valentine Low, the author of Courtiers: Intrigue, Ambition, and the Power Players Behind the House of Windsor, there’s a reason why Charles decided that no reaction was the way to handle the barrage of headlines generated by his youngest son’s book. “They didn’t want to fan the flames of the rift and the dispute,” he shared with People. “They know that anything said in a statement, or a briefing would prolong it.”
And, though no statement from the family has yet to be released, the royal family has proved to be masters of subtle messaging. After all, there are many other ways to express their discontent to the public without writing it formally.
Take a look below at all the times the royal family shaded Markle and Harry since they stepped down as royals.
A version of this article was originally published on Feb 2023.
Dueling Strawberry Jam
After Meghan Markle released her strawberry jam from her brand American Riviera Orchard, Kensington Palace released a video promoting their strawberry jam, per Page Six.
Website Edits
In March 2024, the royal family made some subtle edits to their official website that drastically reduced Meghan and Harry’s presence on the site.
The couple’s individual bios, which detailed the separate and collaborative work, were condensed into one shared bio. Perhaps to balance out the snub, the royals did throw Meghan and Harry a bone by including a link to the couple’s website, Sussex.com, which was created to showcase their work after leaving the royal family.
No Photos Please
Prince William showed us exactly how he feels about his younger brother when he allegedly refused to appear on camera with his at The Diana Legacy Awards on March 14, 2024.
William attended the event and gave a speech but reportedly had a condition that Prince Harry could only deliver his speech, which he did via Zoom, after Will had left the stage and exited the building.
Dueling Podcasts
On Dec. 15, 2023, Queen Camilla announced she’d be starting a podcast called the Queen’s Reading Room Podcast. Per Showbiz, Camilla “will create a space where book lovers – and those who wish to connect more with books – can hear straight from the mouths of literary heroes.
Each week, celebrated authors, as well as stars of stage and screen will invite listeners inside their own reading rooms – whether that’s a bedside book stack or full-scale library – to share some of the books they simply couldn’t live without.”
This came as a shock, considering many have called out Prince Harry and Meghan Markle for being royals and starting a podcast, yet no one said anything about Camilla’s controversial venture into the podcast world. Many have even called this move shady.
No Place To Call Home
In September, reports claimed that Harry was denied a room at Windsor Castle while on a trip to the United Kingdom.
According to the Telegraph, Harry was told that royal staff would be in Balmoral with the King and couldn’t facilitate his request because advanced warning was not given.
The outlet reported: “Royal sources have stressed that [accommodation on the royal estate] will be made where possible but that the palace must be given suitable warning of any such visit.”
A Birthday Snub
In years gone by, on Harry’s birthday, a tribute to the Prince would appear on the official social media accounts for the Royal Family.
However, on September 15, as Harry celebrated his 39th birthday there was nothing posted.
Excluded From the Queen’s Anniversary
Harry and Meghan were not present when the Royals came together to commemorate Queen Elizabeth’s death in a gathering in Balmoral Castle.
At the time, Harry was in the United Kingdom the WellChild Awards yet he still wasn’t included in the official celebrations. Reports claim he managed to remember his grandmother in his own way away from the glare of the cameras.
Trooping the Color 2023
Harry and Meghan were notably absent from this year’s Trooping the Color festivities, a series of events to celebrate the King’s official birthday.
While the rest of the Royal Family put on a good display and a show of solidarity, it was reported that Meghan and Harry weren’t even invited.
“Post-coronation they are merely ignoring him and Meghan,” a source told the Spectator.
King Charles’ Coronation
While Prince Harry was in attendance when his father was officially crowned King of England, there was notably no interaction between Harry and his brother or Kate, only adding fuel to the feud rumors.
Getting the Support
As opposed to what many viewers watching their docuseries Harry & Meghan might think, Kate and William still get plenty of support. In one instance, while visiting Royal Liverpool University Hospital, the royal duo made a point of posting photos of their many fans. In fact, the last photo in an Instagram carousel showed a crowd of hospital workers with their smartphones clamoring for a picture of the Prince and Princess of Wales. People are seen smiling and raising their hands high to get that perfect shot of the royal couple. It’s one way for them to show that despite the headlines, they are as popular as ever.
A United Front
In their first public appearance of the year, and three days after the release of Spare, William and Kate perfectly color-coordinated during their visit to Royal Liverpool University Hospital on Jan 13. Though this could be a happy coincidence, we’re thinking their united front in clothing hints at much more.
Kate’s a Hugger
In Markle and Harry’s Netflix docuseries, Markle talked about meeting Kate and William for the first time and being shocked at how cold the reception was. “I remember I was in ripped jeans, and I was barefoot. I was a hugger, always been a hugger,” the Duchess of Sussex recalled about the cultural differences. “I didn’t realize that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.”
Not long after, Kate visited the Landau Forte College Derby on Feb 8 and made a point of hugging Captain Preet Chandi, a woman who broke the world record for her solo expedition across Antarctica. Though Chandi’s accomplishment is definitely hug-worthy, it’s also telling that Kate posted a picture of the hug that precisely proved Markle wrong.
Signs From the Commonwealth
According to reports from Daily Mail, The Queen’s Commonwealth Trust, an organization that Harry and Markle were president and vice president of before they stepped down, has totally removed any mention of them from their newly redesigned site.
“Our newly re-designed website is now live,” the organization tweeted on Feb 15. “Thanks to the important work of young leaders across the #Commonwealth, we have amazing stories lined up for you. Please take a moment to check it out and let us know what you think.”
Curtsy, Please!
Following Markle’s claim that she didn’t know how to curtsy before meeting Queen Elizabeth II for the first time in the docuseries, a clip of Kate effortlessly curtsying at her carol service at Westminister Abbey went viral. In the video, Kate was seen greeting Charles and Camilla before curtsying in front o each of them. A possible shade, but a definite lesson into how it’s done.
Frogmore Eviction
It seems that right after Spare was published, King Charles decided to evict Meghan and Harry from their UK home of Frogmore Cottage (and gave it to Prince Andrew!) To further this obvious shade, he offered to give them a downsized apartment previously owned by Andrew. Ouch.
Snubbed Their Children
In March 2023, the British Royal family has snubbed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s kids in two major ways. For one thing, many of them skipped Lilbet’s christening, and secondly, they didn’t invite either child to King Charles III’s coronation despite many other royal children being allowed to participate.
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