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Meghan Markle believed Prince Harry “deserved more materially” after she visited the Prince and Princess of Wales’s apartment on the grounds of Kensington Palace for the first time, a royal biographer has claimed.
The Duke of Sussex, now 39, was living in one of the smallest properties on the estate at the time, Nottingham Cottage, which has two bedrooms and just one bathroom.
Prince William and Kate, meanwhile, were living in the spacious 20-room Apartment 1A – their London home ever since marrying in 2011.
Writing in his new biography of the Princess of Wales, Rob Jobson explained: “It is understood that when Meghan and Harry had gone round to have drinks at William and Catherine’s apartment, while they were still living at Nottingham Cottage opposite, Meghan had been ‘taken aback’ at the disparity between the brothers.
“‘I am not saying Meghan was jealous, but she was really surprised how lavishly Harry’s brother was living compared to where they were living,’ said a close source.
“‘It was perhaps the beginning of all the tensions between the two couples.’”
The biography further elaborated on the differences between the heir and the spare, claiming that Prince William “banned” Meghan Markle from wearing any of Princess Diana’s jewellery to her 2018 wedding – despite the then-Kate Middleton being allowed to do so seven years earlier.
“Meghan understood that William was above her husband in the royal pecking order as the heir to the throne, but she thought Harry was also a royal prince, so he deserved more materially,” Jobson claimed.
“She was piqued by the disparity.”
Prince Harry reflected on being “embarrassed” when he first brought Meghan, now 42, home to Nottingham Cottage.
He wrote in his 2023 memoir Spare: “I was excited to welcome Meg to my home, but also embarrassed. Nott Cott was no palace.”
The couple later moved to the five-bedroomed Frogmore Cottage, which they permanently vacated last summer after stepping down as working royals in 2020.
According to reports, the property – which cost over £2 million to renovate for the couple – remains empty.
The relationship between the two brothers and their respective spouses appears to have broken down completely after Harry and Meghan stepped down as working royals in 2020.
It is not known when the two couples last saw each other, but Meghan has not attended any events in the UK since the late Queen’s funeral in September 2022.
Harry said in a recent ITV documentary Tabloids on Trial that he will not bring his wife to the UK because he fears an “acid or knife” attack inspired by negative tabloid stories.
This was also touched upon by Jobson in his new biography, who claimed: “Catherine did seem to be unwittingly set up in competition with Meghan by the press, although she did not invite or encourage such polarising portrayals.”
The Independent has reached out to a representative for the Sussexes for comment.
