Kate’s jealousy may have motivated her husband Prine William to leak rumors about Meghan to the press.

Meghan Markle was already well-known before she married Prince Harry. As an established actress, she’s arguably most famous for portraying Rachel Zane on Suits for seven seasons from 2011 to 2018. But Meghan chose to give up her acting career (for now) when she married Prince Harry in 2018.

However, her name certainly hasn’t been out of the headlines. In fact, Meghan may have more attention surrounding her than ever, particularly over her feud with the royal family. She reportedly struggled to get along with most of Harry’s loved ones following their marriage, which led the couple to abdicate their royal duties in 2020 and ultimately relocate to California.

Harry and Meghan have an especially contentious relationship with his brother Prince William and his wife, Kate Middleton. There have been reports that Kate was jealous of Meghan from the beginning, which may contribute to their strained relationship. Here’s what we know.

Kate Was Jealous Of Meghan, So William Leaked Rumors To The Press

William and Kate met while they were in university, and they tied the knot in 2011. Kate has been dedicated to her royal duties ever since and has never pursued a career independent from her role as the Princess of Wales.

Though Kate is undoubtedly accomplished as well as busy with her royal responsibilities some reports have suggested she may be envious that Meghan was able to establish a successful career for herself apart from the royal family.

“Meghan’s mere presence in the Royal Family overshadowed Kate,” a report from Medium claims. “She couldn’t stand the fact that the media and the people loved Meghan. Kate had always fancied herself as the Queen of People’s hearts, as Princess Diana had once defined herself.”

“When she realized that Meghan was going to easily fill that role, she went to great lengths to destroy her,” it continued.

The same report suggests this motivated Kate and William to turn the media against Harry and Meghan.

“And so the fabrication of false narratives leaked to the media commenced,” the report says. “In them, Meghan was always painted as the villain while Kate was pure, almost angelic.”

Interestingly, it has been confirmed that William’s team leaked rumors to the press about Harry and Meghan, who’ve claimed the negative media attention was a contributing factor in their decision to leave the UK. So, this theory isn’t necessarily far-fetched.

William & Kate Were Jealous Meghan Did A “Better Job,” Harry Claims

Perhaps even more telling, Harry has admitted that he believes his brother and sister-in-law were jealous of Meghan, since she was doing a “better job” when it came to royal duties than them.

“The issue is, when someone who’s marrying in, who should be a supporting act, is then stealing the limelight, or is doing the job better than the person who was born to do this, that upsets people,” Harry stated last year during an episode of his Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan.

But Meghan Has Also Been Accused Of Being Jealous Of Kate

While it’s possible that Kate is jealous of Meghan, the feelings may go both ways. It’s been similarly reported on various occasions that the Suits star is jealous of her sister-in-law.

Following the release of Harry & Meghan, the couple received backlash for their perceived animosity towards William and Kate. “This entire documentary has stemmed from a hatred and a jealously of Kate,” royal commentator Sophie Corcoran stated last year.

“That is the reason this entire thing exists and the entire problem with the royal family and Harry and Meghan exist,” she continued. “Meghan cannot stand Kate because Kate is beautiful, she is elegant, she is going to be queen, and she is the center of attention. Megan will never be the center of attention.”

More recently, royal expert Kinsey Shofield said in January 2023 that she still believes Meghan has a lot of envy toward Kate.

“I believe that Harry and Meghan are bitterly jealous of the Prince and Princess of Wales,” she commented. “[Meghan and Harry] failed to acknowledge that the public loved them thanks to a platform that the institution gave the both of them.”

Shofield added that she believes Harry “wanted to be King,” which contributed to the ongoing feud between the couples. While the royal expert acknowledged that William and Kate don’t seem fond of Harry and Meghan, she doesn’t believe it’s rooted in jealousy.

“William and Catherine’s issues with Meghan had nothing to do with jealousy. Their values were just dramatically different than Meghan Markle’s,” she explained.

The public may never know William and Kate’s true feelings towards Harry and Meghan, but the fact that various reports claim they’re bitter, and Harry’s own admission he thinks they’re jealous of Meghan, the speculation isn’t completely unfounded.

If one thing is clear, Harry and Meghan’s relationship with William and Kate seems more tense than ever, and there’s little to suggest it’ll improve any time soon.