Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton had a falling out prior to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding, with various claims made after the disagreement became public. Prince Harry gave his account of the incident in his bestselling memoir, Spare.
Tabloid reports suggested that Meghan allegedly made Kate cry over a dispute about Princess Charlotte’s bridesmaid dress before the Sussexes’ wedding. However, during their landmark interview with Oprah Winfrey in early 2021, Meghan claimed that “the reverse happened”, and it was actually Kate who made her cry before the wedding.
In Spare, Harry wrote that Kate contacted Meghan four days before the wedding to say the dresses needed to be remade. He explained that Meghan couldn’t respond to Kate’s text immediately due to the numerous wedding-related texts and the “chaos” surrounding her father, Thomas Markle, who had to undergo heart surgery before the big day.
Princess Kate and Meghan Markle were embroiled in an upset over bridesmaids dresses ( Image: Getty)
According to Harry, Kate complained that Charlotte’s dress was “too big, too long, too baggy” and that Charlotte “cried when she tried it on [at] home”.
Meghan reportedly clashed with Kate over bridesmaid dresses, as revealed in Prince Harry’s memoir. Meghan is said to have insisted that Princess Charlotte’s dress could be altered by the tailor, Ajay Mirpui, who was on standby at Kensington Palace, texting Kate: “Can you take Charlotte to have it altered, as the other mums are doing?” Kate’s alleged response was: “No, all the dresses need to be remade.”, reports the Express. The Duke explained:”So the next morning she (Meghan) texted Kate that our tailor was standing by. That wasn’t sufficient.”
Princess Charlotte’s dress was too big and too baggy ( Image: Getty)
When Meghan questioned if Kate understood the stress she was under with her father’s situation, Kate acknowledged she did, but highlighted the wedding was in just four days from then.
Meghan’s purported retort was: “Yes, Kate, I know.”
She then urged Kate to visit the tailor, saying: “I’m not sure what else to say. If the dress doesn’t fit then please take Charlotte to see Ajay. He’s been waiting all day”. Kate’s reported answer was a simple: “Fine.”
Princess Kate apologised, according to Prince Harry’s account ( Image: Getty)
The Duke of Sussex describes returning home to find Meghan distraught and even “sobbing on the floor”. Later, Kate extended an olive branch with flowers and an apology card for the supposed misunderstanding. Harry reflects on the high tensions, noting: “Emotions were running high, of course, after the stress of the last week, the last month, the last day. It was intolerable – but temporary. Kate hadn’t meant any harm, I told her.”
Buckingham Palace and Kensington Palace have remained silent on the allegations made by the Sussexes in the book Spare, their interviews, and the Netflix series Harry & Meghan.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on their Wedding Day ( Image: Getty)
Mr Mirpui later confessed to the Daily Mail that he sympathises with everyone involved, considering the stress of having children in ill-fitting clothes at a wedding. He remarked that weddings are fraught with tension, “especially one” of such magnitude.
The tailor added, “I can understand why anybody would be upset if the dresses weren’t fitting – it’s nerve-wracking.”
