We’re less than two months away from the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
Naturally, the preparations are in full swing; the guest list has been sent out – there are even rumors that none other than the Duchess of Cambridge herself is planning Meghan’s bachelorette party.
And the media has taken a keen interest in that last fact.
In the year and a half since the world first learned that Meghan and Harry were dating, there’s been frequent speculation about the nature of Meg’s relationship with Kate Middleton.
At first, it was rumored that Meghan and Kate hated each other, but that was something of an inevitable angle.
Tabloids love to pit influential women against one another, and the idea of a Meg-Kate rivalry was to salacious for many outlets to resist.
Despite frequent reports to the contrary, however, there’s no evidence of any real animosity between Meghan and Kate.
That said, there’s also no indication that Meghan and Kate are close friends.
“I think they are certainly friendly and they are spending more time with each other,” Harry biographer Katie Nicholl tells InStyle.
“You know they’re neighbors in Kensington Palace and I know that Meghan enjoys going over to see Kate and the children, and she does enjoy that. I’m told there’s always an open invitation for her to be with Kate ever when she wants.”
In other words, they’re neighbors who will soon have the same in-laws, but that’s about as far as the relationship goes.
Nicholl is careful to note, however, that while they may not be royal besties, Meghan and Kate certainly are not rivals:
“I think that any animosity is probably a fabrication in the press. I’ve never heard to suggest that they don’t get along,” she adds.
Nicholl concedes that while there’s no bad blood between the women, they might never form a particularly close relationship:
“I do hear plenty to suggest that they’re quite different people and that have quite different interests and that Meghan is quite independent and very confident and very keen to I think establish her own network of friends over here in London,” the author says.
“So that’s certainly not to say she’s snubbed Kate in any way,” Nicholl adds.
“I think they do spend time together. But I think Meghan’s keen not to rely too much on Kate and to have her own friends as well.”
So there you have it – sounds like Kate and Meghan are just generally sort of indifferent toward one another.
Needless to say, that’s not the most exciting narrative, and it’s easy to see why the press cooked up something a bit more scandalous.
Those who know the Royals best say they expect Meghan and Kate to become closer friends over time.
But it doesn’t sound like the wives of William and Harry are in any rush to make that happen.
