When Queen Elizabeth II died back in September, we knew that the royal family would be entering a period of upheaval.
But we didn’t know that so much would change so rapidly for the members of the Windsor clan.
Take, for example, the relationship between Meghan Markle and Kate Middleton.
Until recently, it was widely assumed that the “dueling duchesses” would be forever at odds with one another.
Now, however, there’s reason to believe that these two might bury the hatchet sometime in the very near future.
Earlier today, we reported on the rumor that Meghan has invited Kate to appear on her podcast.
Many dismissed this as a gutsy but impractical move that was sure to be shot down by the new Princess of Wales.
But revelations made in a highly-anticipated new memoir might indicate that Kate is more open to a reconciliation than previously thought.
In his new book The King: The Life of Charles III author Christopher Andersen addresses the controversy over Meghan’s decision to visit Uvalde, Texas following the devastating school shooting that took place there in May.
Meghan’s critics within the British tabloid press dismissed the move as a callous publicity stunt, but apparently, Kate and the rest of the royal family supported the visit.
“As strained as relations may have been between the Sussexes and the rest of the family, none of the senior royals stepped forward to criticize Meghan’s decision to visit Uvalde,” Andersen wrote in a portion of his book excerpted by Newsweek.
“Charles and the Cambridges in particular were shaken by what had happened — a stark reminder that thousands of Americans were losing their lives to senseless gun violence every year,” he continued.
“At one point Kate told a friend that she understood why Meghan, as an American and the mother of two young children, would feel compelled to show up in person.”
As Andersen proceeded to point out, Kate once made a similar visit, unexpectedly showing up to a candlelight vigil for a London woman who was murdered by a police officer.
“It was, in fact, something Kate herself had done when she showed up unannounced the previous year at a candlelight vigil in London for a young woman who had been murdered by a police officer,” he wrote.
“The glaring difference was that Kate had not been subjected to the sort of blistering criticism now aimed at her American sister-in-law.”
At the time of the Uvalde shooting, Meghan’s disgraced father, Thomas Markle, had recently suffered a heart attack, and some of the cruelest commenters suggested that the Duchess’ priorities were out of whack.
“Critics wasted no time suggesting that Meghan should have visited her seriously ill father rather than travel to Uvalde to stage what Meghan’s half-brother Thomas Jr. slammed as a ‘PR stunt,’” Andersen wrote.
One such critic was journalist Dan Wooton, who blasted Meghan for visiting Uvalde before she visited her estranged father.
“Family comes before anything else for me,” Wooton wrote at the time.
“So, like many others, I find it unimaginable that Meghan Markle the length of the country for a tacky photo opportunity at the site of the Uvalde school shooting, possibly with Netflix reality show cameras in tow, but not drive three-and-a-half hours down the road to see her stricken dad in hospital, who is recovering from a life-threatening stroke that has cruelly stolen his speech.”
The passage reminds us that Meghan’s critics have never applied the standards of responsible journalism to their coverage of Meghan.
There were no Netflix cameras in tow, and just because Wooton is close with his parents, that doesn’t mean Meghan needs to be.
No doubt, such reckless reportage has exacerbated the feelings of ill will within the royal family.
Thankfully, it looks as thought Kate and Meghan have decided not to let clueless outsiders dictate whom they should hate.
