Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton struggled to move past the stage of ‘distant politeness’

Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle, unsurprisingly, are not on the best of terms and it has now been disclosed that their relationship was nothing more than 'distant politeness.'

The first explosive excerpt revealed from Meghan and Prince Harry’s new book Finding Freedom, throws light on the relationship between the Duchess of Sussex and the Duchess of Cambridge.

The passage details the Sussex pair’s ties with the rest of the family. “Every conversation, every issue, every personal disagreement, whatever it may be, involves staff,” said a source cited in the book penned by royal reporter Omid Scobie and royal contributor for Elle, Carolyn Durand.

While the reason for their sour ties remained unmentioned in the extract, it does reveal that the two duchesses have a "cordial but distant rapport", referenced at a July 2019 photo at a polo match, only two months after Meghan gave birth to Archie.

It was further revealed that the Sussexes and the Cambridges tried to mend their ties in the latter half of 2019 but Meghan and Harry’s exit announcement threw it all into disarray and left William “angry.”

Their exclusion from the official lineup at Commonwealth Service in March also made them realize that their exit was for the best.

"The decision had been made without their consultation, and they were informed long after the 2,000 orders of service had been printed for guests, with their names notably absent," wrote the authors.

“Although Meghan tried to make eye contact with Kate, the duchess barely acknowledged her,” it was further revealed.

Meghan was left “emotionally bruised and exhausted” by the end of the day and could not “imagine wanting to set a foot back into anything royal again.”