Meghan and Kate’s strained bond may have begun long before the royal rift made headlines.
According to former royal butler Paul Burrell, Meghan Markle harbored envy toward Kate Middleton’s lavish lifestyle at Kensington Palace, even before officially marrying Prince Harry.
Burrell, in his upcoming memoir The Royal Insider, alleges that the Duchess of Sussex couldn’t help but compare her modest life at Nottingham Cottage with the grandeur of Apartment 1A, where Prince William and Kate lived.
Complete with its own ballroom, the Waleses’ sprawling residence stood in stark contrast to the two bedroom, 17th century cottage where Meghan and Harry began their married life.
The butler claims that her jealousy may have sparked after she and Harry were invited to dinner at the Kate and William's apartment.
“This may be where the trouble began,” he suggested, painting a picture of a Duchess who felt overshadowed by the luxury surrounding her sister-in-law.
Nottingham Cottage did, however, hold sentimental value for the Sussexes it was there Harry proposed over a roast chicken dinner in 2017.
Yet, in their Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, the couple admitted they weren’t exactly enamored with their first home.
Meghan pointedly remarked, “As far as people were concerned, we were living in a Palace. But we were living in a cottage.
Kensington Palace sounds very regal; of course, it does say palace in the name. But Nottingham Cottage was small,” a sharp contrast to the Waleses’ more opulent lifestyle.
Harry, once standing at over six feet tall, joked about the “low ceilings” of the small 17th-century home, quipping, “The whole thing was really small, on a slight lean with low ceilings. Whoever lived there before must have been small.”
Meghan echoed the sentiment, admitting, “It was a chapter in our lives where I don’t think anyone could believe what it was actually like behind the scenes.”
Even Oprah Winfrey, when invited for tea, was stunned by the couple’s humble setup. According to The Duke, she told them, “No one would ever believe it.”