Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle’s relationship has been at the center of speculations for years. When Markle first joined the royal family, there were reports that Middleton took her under her wing and helped her manage her new role. However, it didn’t take long before royal experts revealed that Middleton and Markle never really got along.
The sisters-in-law were photographed on a few occasions together. And one of their first solo outings was at Wimbledon in 2018. At the time, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle chatted with each other nonstop. And a lip reader also revealed that they talked about the struggles of getting a good night's sleep shortly after the Duchess of Cambridge welcomed her third child, Prince Louis.
Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle’s Interaction At Wimbledon Changed After A Year
A year later, Middleton and Markle attended Wimbledon again. But this time around, they were joined by Pippa Middleton. While speaking with Mirror UK, body language expert Judi James said that Middleton and Markle’s interactions at the time changed compared to how they were the year before.
“Their first visit to Wimbledon came at a time when expectations were still running high that these two women might be best friends. 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-day rituals though it did seem to leave the door part-way open in terms of relationship-forming,” James said (via Express).
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Kate Middleton Dropped Subtle Signs That There Was Tension Between Her And Meghan Markle At Wimbledon
During their first Wimbledon appearance, Middleton and Markle shared authentic laughter with each other. They also engaged in eye-checking signals that suggested they were in the first stages of a growing friendship. But by the time they attended Wimbledon a year later, it was obvious that tensions were already brewing between the two.
“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. 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,” James said.
The body language expert added that there was an expectation of seeing more exchanged glances and mirroring signals between Middleton and Markle during their second outing. But this isn’t what happened. In fact, it became obvious that there was no progression in their relationship during this time.
“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,” the source said.
Kate Middleton And Meghan Markle Have Very Little In Common
As of writing, it’s unclear if Middleton and Markle’s relationship has already improved. But in the book Finding Freedom, royal author Omid Scobie said that the sisters-in-law were never at odds with each other. They just didn’t become best friends because they had very little in common.
“Meghan would agree with the assessment that the duchesses were not the best of friends. Their relationship hadn’t progressed much since she was Harry’s girlfriend. Kate and Meghan just didn't know each other that well. Kate didn't really make a deep effort to become close to Meghan,” Scobie wrote (via Yahoo! News).
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