Unfortunately, it's no secret that Meghan Markle and Princess Kate are not besties.
More than that, the two royal women seemingly never really got along: Meghan claimed Kate made her cry ahead of her 2018 wedding; Prince Harry claimed in Spare that Kate was upset when Meghan made a "baby brain" comment about her; and Meghan shared in the Sussex docuseries that she was confused by the lack of hugs she received from Kate when they first met.
And recently, following the Sussexes' royal exit (and even prior to it), it has been claimed that the two women have not spoken to each other directly since as far back as 2019.
Now, royal expert Jennie Bond has commented on why she thinks it was difficult for Meghan to adapt to the way of the Royal Family—and in particular to having Kate as a "superior" within the hierarchy, rather than operating from an even playing field where they could be peers, and even friends.
"I don’t think there’s any doubt that Meghan found it very difficult to be a junior member of a team," Bond told OK!.
"It’s understandable because she was a confident, independent, outspoken feminist with her own career when she joined the Royal Family.
"It must have been curious to have to learn to take her place in order of precedence, and know that she was never going to be the chief executive of the firm, nor even the managing director…. just a senior member, who could have been very valued and highly effective."
Bond went on to explain that Meghan is a natural leader, and is more comfortable forging her own path in life.
"There is absolutely nothing wrong with that… but it simply is not a recipe for successfully joining a family firm which has a clearly defined hierarchy," the expert said.
For Bond, while Kate knew from dating Prince William what it meant to join the royals, Meghan was unprepared.
"I think there was a clash of culture and life experience between Kate and Meghan: to hug or not, to over-share or not, to dominate proceedings or take your turn, to be immersed in family life or immersed in a Hollywood career. I think they were very much two women separated by a common language," Bond said.
"And I suspect Meghan found Kate's senior position, with all the protocol that entails, very hard to swallow."
Frankly, I can understand this.
