Meghan Markle's request to Kate Middleton 'caused grimace' and 'clash of styles'

There were high expectations for the Princess of Wales and Meghan Markle to form a strong bond and become a dynamic duo . However, it appears that the two strong-willed women never quite saw eye-to-eye after Prince Harry began dating Meghan , and tension between them began to simmer almost immediately.

One awkward encounter occurred before Harry and Meghan's wedding, when the couple, along with Prince William and Kate Middleton , were referred to as the "Fab Four." During a Royal Foundation Forum in February 2018, the royals discussed their charitable work, and brothers William and Harry jokingly mentioned having disagreements.

In his memoir Spare, Harry recounted a tense moment between Meghan and Kate that occurred backstage before the forum, which was sparked by a request for lip gloss. According to Harry, Meghan asked to borrow Kate's lip gloss, which left the Princess of Wales looking uncomfortable.

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He wrote: "Meg asked to borrow Kate's lipgloss. An American thing. Meg forgot hers, worried she needed some, and turned to Kate for help. Kate, taken aback, went into her handbag and reluctantly pulled out a small tube. Meg squeezed some onto her finger and applied it to her lips. Kate grimaced. Small clash of styles maybe."

Harry's memoir offered a treasure trove of insights into the dynamics between Meghan and Kate during Meghan's tenure as a senior royal. He claims that Meghan inadvertently ruffled feathers by suggesting Kate was suffering from "baby brain" due to her pregnancy with Prince Louis around the time of Harry and Meghan's 2018 nuptials, reports the Mirror .

Additionally, he disclosed an intimate exchange regarding bridesmaids' dresses that reportedly brought Meghan to tears, involving Princess Charlotte's dress being too large, though Kate later made amends with an apology. In a candid ITV interview with Tom Bradby, Harry acknowledged that his brother William and sister-in-law had difficulties warming up to Meghan "from the get-go."

Probed about the rocky start, Harry cited "lots of different reasons," including the royals' unexpected reaction to him dating someone like Meghan, who enjoyed a successful acting career. He confessed that both he and his family initially harbored certain stereotypes, which he too was complicit in fostering early on.

Asked for further explanation, Harry elaborated: "American actress, and that was playing out in the British press in the media at the time as well. I had that in the back of my mind, and some of the things that my brother and sister-in-law – some of the way that they were acting or behaving definitely felt to me as though unfortunately that stereotyping was causing a bit of a barrier to them really sort of, you know, introducing or welcoming her in."

When asked to clarify, Harry expounded: "Well, American actress, divorced, biracial - there's all different parts to that and what that can mean but if you are, like a lot of my family do, if you are reading the press, the British tabloids, [yeah] at the same time as living the life, then there is a tendency where you could actually end up living in the tabloid bubble rather than the actual reality."