The Princess of Wales made two high-profile Wimbledon outings with Meghan Markle in years gone by – but despite the friendly display, a body language expert says there were already signs of future conflict

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle made their first appearance at Wimbledon in 2018(Image: Daily Mirror)

Despite their apparent differences, it seems the Princess of Wales and Duchess of Sussex did have one thing in common – their shared love of tennis. Kate is a well-known tennis fan and a regular each year at Wimbledon while Meghan has been spotted several times as tennis event, supporting her pal Serena Williams, a 23-times Grand Slam champion.

And during Wimbledon back in 2018, the sisters-in-law made a joint visit to Wimbledon to watch the men’s semi finals as well as the ladies singles final. The pair put on a friendly display after being spotted chatting and laughing, with some hoping it was the start of a blossoming friendship.

Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton at Wimbledon in July 2018(Image: REX/Shutterstock)

But as revealed by Prince Harry in his controversial memoir, Spare, things might not have been so rosy behind closed doors as he lifted the lid on the bond between his wife and sister-in-law.

He recounted several times when Meghan seemed at loggerheads with Kate in the early days of their romance. He says the two women had a row over bridesmaid dresses in the lead-up to his wedding that left Meghan in tears and that Kate “grimaced” when the duchess borrowed her lipgloss.

Meanwhile, he wrote how Kate asked for an apology from Meghan when she accused her of having “baby brain” following the birth of Prince Louis. Few knew all of this when Kate and Meghan stepped out at Wimbledon but behind the smiles and enthusiasm, body language expert Judi James says that by that point, it was clear to see that tensions were brewing – and the giveaway wasn’t so much in what they did do, as opposed to what they didn’t do.

The pair smile as they watch from the Royal Box(Image: Daily Mirror)

“Their first visit to Wimbledon came at a time when expectations were still running high that these two women might be best friends,” Judi told The Mirror of their 2018 debut.

“What we saw from their body language then was a display of politeness that didn’t totally suggest close friendship bonds. Kate looked like a well-mannered host and Meghan appeared to enjoy her company but there were few if any convincing signals of anything more intimate.

“As early-days rituals though it did seem to leave the door part-way open in terms of relationship-forming. The laughter looked shared and authentic but there was no real consequent relaxing of posture or increase in tie-signs or eye-checking signals to suggest these were the first stages in a growing friendship.”

The following year brought yet another friendly outing at the tennis, this time with Meghan sandwiched between Kate and her little sister Pippa – and Judi says there were clear indications of trouble in paradise, especially given the complete lack of friendship signals you would expect to see 12 months on.

Kate and Meghan at the tournament in 2019 with Kate’s sister Pippa (Image: PA)

“By the time of the second visit there did appear to be some subtle signs of potential tension from Kate, who seems to have taken a more ‘adult’ stance,” Judi continued.

“Kate was still very much the polite and friendly host but it is pretty obvious the bonding signals were showing no signs to hint of any growing or matured levels of closeness or rapport behind the scenes.

“The two women laughed together and even turned together to chat to someone behind them but as they turned back their smiles seemed to drop at about the same time. By now you could expect to see more exchanged glances, mirroring and more softening of the facial expressions when they talked to one another but there were no signs of any progression along those lines.

“Meghan had been placed in between Kate and her sister Pippa which looked like a signal of family unity, but it did seem to show up how Meghan tended to mirror Pippa more than Kate and to relax a little more while she was talking to her.

“Neither of these women would produce any active signals of dislike or unfriendliness but it’s the lack of any progression of friendship signals that seemed to imply their relationship had stalled, despite efforts to put on a show of unity in public. Both must have been aware that their husbands were struggling with their rift and this would have made it even more difficult.”