Palace slams 'false' report claiming Kate is feeling 'exhausted and trapped' after Meghan and Harry's exit
Update:
Kensington Palace issued a statement on Wednesday, May 27 regarding the article which claimed that the Duchess of Cambridge was feeling "exhausted" after Harry and Markle's exit. "This story contains a swathe of inaccuracies and false misrepresentations which were not put to Kensington Palace prior to publication," a Kensington Palace spokesperson said.
Tatler, in response, released a statement saying they got in touch with the palace a month ago. "Tatler's Editor-in-Chief Richard Dennen stands behind the reporting of Anna Pasternak and her sources. Kensington Palace knew we were running the 'Catherine the Great' cover months ago and we asked them to work together on it. The fact they are denying they ever knew is categorically false," a Tatler spokesperson said.
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Kate Middleton is reportedly not happy with the increased workload after Meghan and Prince Harry stepped down as senior royals. A friend of the Cambridges revealed that Kate “feels exhausted and trapped” over larger responsibilities after the Megxit that saw the Duke and Duchess of Sussex move out of the royal family and choose the US as their home.
Speaking to British magazine Tatler, the friend said: “William and Catherine really wanted to be hands-on parents and the Sussexes have effectively thrown their three children under a bus. There goes their morning school runs as the responsibilities on them now are enormous.” The insider also called Meghan and Harry “so selfish” for their decision to quit as royals, adding that their step would have profound impacts on the family life of the Cambridges.
Another friend of the Duchess of Cambridge said that Kate has been left fuming over the enormous workload. “Kate is furious about the larger workload. Of course she's smiling and dressing appropriately but she doesn't want this. She’s working as hard as a top CEO, who has to be wheeled out all the time, without the benefits of boundaries and plenty of holidays.”
Meanwhile, others including staff, friends, and society figures, revealed to the magazine how Kate and Meghan's relationship fractured at the Sussexes' wedding rehearsal in May 2018. One source shared how the mother-of-three was determined to follow the royal protocol on the big day.
“It was a hot day and apparently there was a row over whether the bridesmaids should wear tights or not. Kate, following protocol, felt that they should. Meghan didn't want them to,” the insider said, adding Kate went on to “put Meghan in her place”, reprimanding her for speaking down to Kensington Palace staff. Another source revealed to the magazine, “In the palace, you hear numerous stories of the staff saying so-and-so is a nightmare and behaves badly but you never hear that about Kate.”
One member of the royal set said, “I've spent quite a lot of time around Kate and she is impenetrable. There is nothing to like or dislike. She has a ruthless survival streak, just like the House of Windsor. It's why she is so well suited. She keeps her head down because the prize of being queen is so great." The member also said that they believed the 38-year-old has started learning how to better perform her royal duties from the Queen herself. The Duchess has even started "modeling herself" on the 94-year-old monarch, the source said, adding: “She now speaks like the Queen."
Prince William and Kate have taken the front seat and led the royal family's efforts to support the nation through the pandemic after Prince Charles tested positive for the virus and Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip went into self-isolation at Windsor Castle due to their old age. Earlier this month, royal expert Katie Nicholl revealed how Kate and William have been “stepping up to the plate” amid the pandemic. “We’re seeing them letting their guard down and that is a result of what we are going through,” she told ET.
“It’s uplifting for Britain, particularly for royalists, to see what the future of the royal family is going to look like. The royal family has gone to great lengths not to be seen to be aloof or distant or unrelatable,” Nicholl added.